Sewing the Seeds
by lilkorea
Summary: A new Hokage must be named while our heroes struggle to let go of their safety lines and plunge head first into adulthood. Relationships are put to the ultimate test as Akatsuki emerges from the dark and turmoil arises in both Heaven and Earth. In the end, only the strongest survive. (seq to The Struggle)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"What the hell…?" Yusuke said in a shakey voice as she stood before the Konoha council with her teammates. She, Kurama, and Kuwabara had all just been promoted to Jounin level and a second before they could celebrate their new status did the council drop a bomb on them.

They wanted Yusuke to be the next Hokage. "You guys…can't be serious…" she said, still stunned.

"We never joke." said an elderly woman.

"Yusuke, you should be honored that the late Sandaime had chosen you as his successor before he died." Koenma said, who was also present. "Out of everyone in this village, you're the strongest. You just defeated the strongest demon that no one before you could defeat, winning the Dark Tournament with your team. Your reputation has spread even to the farthest reaches of Reikai."

"So what? That doesn't mean I have all the right qualities to lead Konoha." Yusuke said.

"True, you are still very young and inexperienced to lead this village," said Koharu, "but you're earnest and your teachers Genkai-sama and Anko-sensei agree that you are the best choice."

Yusuke looked over to her teachers who were standing off to the side of the room and then at Koenma. "What about my job as Spirit Detective?"

"Relax, your teammates can handle that job in your absence." Koenma said.

"She's just a child who knows nothing of the reality and weight of this responsibility. I'm completely against this." said Danzou, who was part of the council.

"It is not up for debate. Sarutobi left his cap to Yusuke, who are we to go against his last wish?" another spoke.

"Hey! Don't I get a say in any of this?" Yusuke asked, beginning to get impatient with the back-and-forth bickering. "Don't go make decisions for me just because I'm still a kid in your eyes. I'm not gonna do something just because the old man wrote it on a piece of paper."

"Yusuke, we know this is a lot to process, especially after all the events that just happened this week alone." Koenma said, "Why not take a few days to settle back into your normal routine and think about the offer?"

Yusuke was about to say something but stopped when Kurama put a hand on her shoulder. "He's right, take as much time as you need to process all of this."

With a sigh, she nodded, agreeing to think it over.

* * *

Yusuke and her teammates had gone to one of the unused training grounds, meeting Hiei there and getting him updated on what just happened.

"Hmph. So what if you're unsure of yourself? Just take the power that they're offering so freely and run with it. That's what you usually do anyways." Hiei said.

"I'm gonna choose to ignore that." Yusuke said.

"Seems kinda weird, don't ya think?" Kuwabara asked.

"How so, Kuwabara?" Kurama asked.

"Well, it's all so sudden. Think about it—it hasn't even been a week since the Hokage died, we get promoted straight to jounin level without even taking the exams like everybody else. And then Urameshi is asked to become the fifth Hokage. If you ask me, it all looks like the council is desperate to get order back after the whole invasion thing." Kuwabara said.

"Hmm, I agree it is quite suspicious, but then again the alternative choice would be Danzou." Kurama said.

"Who's Danzou?" Yusuke asked.

Kurama looked at his female friend. "You recall that man in the meeting? The one who spoke out against you becoming Hokage?" Yusuke nodded. "He is Danzou."

"Yeah, so?" Yusuke said.

"He's very well known around the village as blood thirsty and greedy for power. He's always had his eye fixated on becoming Hokage but never succeeded. He once had staged a coup to seize power by force using his secret organization called Root. Of course he failed, but instead of banishing Danzou the late Hokage instead put him on probation and under constant sourvailance. To this day Danzou still lusts for the position and he'll more than likely take advantage of Konoha's current vulnerability to push you, Yusuke, out of the running."

"He can have it for all I care." Yusuke said, turning her head away to look out at nothing.

"I wouldn't rush to that decision, Danzou is a very ruthless man. I can't be certain but there is another rumor that he was involved with the Uchiha massacre as well. He's a maniac in his own right, and incredibly radical. Should he ever become Hokage, he'll surely turn our peaceful home into the center stage of a war."

"He sounds pretty bad." Kuwabara said, "Maybe you should take the job, Urameshi."

"We won't pressure you into it, Yusu. But the three of us will support whatever decision you make. Right, Hiei?" Kurama said while the jagan user merely "hmphed."

"Thanks," Yusuke said, looking back at her team, giving them a smile that showed she appreciated them.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke returned home, glad to be away from his noisy blonde teammate. He was looking forward to finally being by himself, fix himself something to eat, shower, and then get some much needed sleep. But something about his little apartment was off.

There was somebody sitting in his living room. Flipping casually through a magazine.

"Oi, what the hell are doing here?" Sasuke asked, annoyed.

"I needed a quiet place to think and since you're not talkative I figured your place was the best choice." Yusuke said, not looking up from her magazine.

"Just go home."

"Too noisy. My family owns a tavern, remember?"

"I don't care, there are plenty of other places for you to—" he stopped when he smelled something savory. He looked to his small kitchen and saw that his stew pot was on the stove, simmering away. That's when he finally noticed his little table already set with assorted side dishes of pickled radish, tomato salad, and fried fish. "Did you…?"

"Hmm?" Yusuke glanced up and noticed where he was looking. "Oh yeah, I figured as thanks for letting me freeload I'd make you dinner. It's nothing much. By the way, why do you have an overstock of tomatoes?"

Sasuke felt his stomach tighten at the sight of the food and in defeat couldn't kick Yusuke out. Besides, it had been so long since he had a home cooked meal he convinced himself that just this once it was all right.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Yusuke walked past him to turn off the stove and carry the pot to the table, placing it in the center on a protective mat. "Let's eat."

Sasuke sat down across from Yusuke, unable to grasp why he felt so awkward in his own home while his "guest" looked so comfortable.

"Why my place?" he asked after accepting a serving of rice.

"I already told you, I needed a quiet place to think." She replied while serving herself a portion of rice.

"But why do you need to think?"

"I've been offered a new position and I'm not sure whether I should take it or not." Yusuke said, "I'm actually kinda scared to accept it. I mean…what if I screw up and people get seriously hurt?"

Sasuke stared at her, remembering the awesome power she displayed in the Dark Tournament and the surety she had when in the ring. It seemed like a distant dream compared to the reality of the girl sitting across from him. "People are gonna get hurt whether it's your fault or not. It's not something you can control. Some things are just…inevitable…and all you or anyone can do is learn from your mistakes and move on."

Yusuke blinked a few times at him before she smiled softly.

"What?" he asked, beginning to feel awkward.

Her smile grew, brightening her face. "You know, you can say some really nice things when you want to. I guess you aren't such a big jerk after all."

_I'm a jerk? Is that what her impression of me was this whole time? I guess I did sorta ambush her in the forest that one time._ Sasuke thought. He picked up his spoon and took a sip of the stew. It was delicious. It had a bold, savory taste with a hint of spiciness that didn't overpower the pallet.

They mostly ate in silence and once they were finished Yusuke said she'd clean everything up while Sasuke took a shower. As the water ran in the bathroom, slowly heating up, Sasuke leaned back against the door. It had been so long since he felt warm with content, not since…

After he was done with his shower Sasuke found Yusuke laying on his couch, fast asleep. In normal circumstances he would have been irked that someone had the nerve to overstay their welcome, but against all odds he decided to just let it go. Taking a spare blanket out of his closet, he laid it gently over Yusuke, the back of his knuckles brushing her cheek and he felt a sudden shock jolt through his entire body. It surprised him as he jumped back, wrapping his hand over the other as he looked at Yusuke who remained asleep.

Not allowing himself to linger on it, he went straight to bed, but found he could not sleep as he laid under his covers, rubbing the knuckle that touched her.

* * *

Three days went by and Yusuke continued to hide out in Sasuke's apartment every night. At first Sasuke complained but always stopped short whenever he would see the meals Yusuke had prepared. It was odd that she would take the liberty of making dinner for someone she hardly knew aside from knowing him by name and who his teammates were. But after the second day, Sasuke stopped complaining and simply accepted that this was the temporary norm.

He was aware that Yusuke was only using his apartment to take some time away for herself to think about taking a position that he himself had no clue about other than that it was important. Aside from that, he saw no hint of conflict on her face except for the occasional times she would simply stare at the floor, her gaze unfocused and her brow furrowed.

"Puu!" chirped Yusuke's spirit beast.

"What the hell is this? I thought we were having nabe tonight?" Sasuke said, seeing the rather impressive spread of sushi—and of course the tomato salad.

"Yeah, I know, but there was a sale and I figured why the hell not? Pretty impressive, huh?" Yusuke asked, beaming with pride at her gourmet creation. "Y'know, I could open my own restaurant if things don't work out."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked as he sat down at the table and picked up his chopsticks. Suddenly a sushi roll was stuffed into his mouth by Yusuke.

"How's it taste?" she asked.

He was a bit stunned but chewed the roll and then swallowed. "It's good."

She grinned. "That's great! Eat as much as you can!"

"Where did you learn to cook?"

"My family may own a tavern, but behind that we also own a natural hot spring, so of course we also run an inn. As part of the hospitality service we provide, we prepare meals for our guests and my kaa-chan thought that I should learn how to cook. Of course that was before I became Spirit Detective and all, and whenever I wasn't busy with missions, I'd help out at home."

"I guess I haven't thought of you as the helpful type like that."

"Hey! I may come off as a selfish, lazy bum, but I can pull my own weight when it counts."

"So have you given any thought to that important decision?" he asked, eating a slice of fatty tuna.

"Sorta…um, tomorrow I'm not coming by so you'll have to cook for yourself."

"That's fine. I can manage."

Yusuke thought of the Uchiha as a cold fish, never once asking about her or starting the conversation. But then again, why should he care about her personal life? They weren't friends, just acquaintances passing each other by. But lately Yusuke found herself a bit curious about him, he was like a reflection in the mirror almost. She knew his story—everybody did—but she didn't know _him._

Unlike Neji, he wasn't all that obsessed with surpassing her. In fact, according to what Lee had said, Sasuke had found competition among the other rookies and has focused on besting them all first. To Yusuke, that seemed reasonable and more realistically achievable for someone who had a lower level of reishi.

_Yeah. He's definitely nothing like Neji…but then again…I wonder if he wants to fight me?_ Yusuke wondered.

"What's with the stare?" Sasuke asked.

"Nothing, really. I'm just starting to see why all the girls in your class thought you were cool. But then again…hey, after this, you wanna fight?" Yusuke said.

"Hmm?" he looked at her quizzically before a slight smile tugged at his lips. "As much as I want to test myself against Konoha's strongest, I know for a fact that I'm no way near your level. I think I'll pass this time."

"Wow, that's a first." She said, and then grinned. "I'm starting to like you. Okay, then, I'm sure I'll still be around when you're ready to test yourself."

"When you come back, make nabe."

A vein popped up on Yusuke's forehead. "You…I ain't your personal chef."

* * *

"You can't keep avoiding it, Yusu, the council are very anxious for your decision." Kurama said as he walked on Yusuke's left side.

"Yeah, they're even riding us to get you to make a faster decision." Kuwabara said, who was walking on Yusuke's right side. Together, they trekked to Genkai's temple that sat deep within the forest, south of the village, miles away from anywhere.

"I know, but how can they expect a straight answer from me? It's not something you ask of someone my age." Yusuke said.

"True, and it was a good idea to take some time off to give it a long thought." Kurama said.

"So did you decide already?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yeah, I did, but every time I think about it I get this heavy feeling in my gut, like it'd be the biggest regret of my life." Yusuke said.

"Well, then let's not burden ourselves with something so serious on this trip." Kurama suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Yusuke said.

"Hey, Urameshi, I've been meaning to ask you something." Kuwabara began, "Where the heck have you been all week?" Yusuke stiffened a bit. "I mean, I get if you went off someplace to vent, but whenever I went to your place your kaa-san would say that you never came home. I figured you were with Neji but even he said he hadn't seen you. Tenten-chan said she saw you shopping in the market one day but that was it. So where the heck were you?"

"Hmm, I've been wondering that, too." Kurama said, "You don't smell like you've been sleeping outside for a week. You also look very rested."

"What does it matter where I've been?" Yusuke asked, trying to play it cool. "I didn't fall off the face of the earth or anything so who cares. Let's get to Genkai's before lunch time."

"Why are you being so evasive about it? Just tell us where you've been." Kuwabara insisted.

"Nowhere. I was in the village the whole time." Yusuke said.

Kurama just smiled knowingly, having smelled the faint scent of the Uchiha. "Let's leave it be for now." He suggested.

* * *

Neji found Sasuke in one of the training grounds in the woods, throwing shuriken at a target. When Kuwabara had come to him asking if he had seen Yusuke, naturally the Hyuuga was curious as to where she was. When he came across her in the market, buying an unusually excessive amount of fish, he followed her. At first it didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary until he followed her down a street that was in the opposite direction of her home.

He followed her into an ally, going behind an apartment building. For a second he had lost sight of her until he heard a latch unlock and he looked up to find her climbing in through a window. Neji had waited a few minutes before going up, peeking in through the window. He took note that it was somebody's home, but whose?

It was curious as to why Yusuke would buy fish, break into someone's apartment, and then…cook? Yusuke could cook? He had no idea.

What he didn't suspect was who she was cooking for until he entered the front door to a lavish home cooked feast. The second Neji realized who lived in the apartment was the second that he felt such deep betrayal.

Why?

Why him?

Why the Uchiha?

"Hey! I've got something to ask you." Neji said, approaching Sasuke.

Sasuke had stopped throwing his shuriken to turn and face Neji. "All right, go ahead and ask and then leave."

"Why was Yusuke going to your apartment this week? What are you two doing together?" he asked, his fists clenching tightly at his sides. He was furious that Yusuke would go to someone whom she hardly ever spoken to or hardly mingle with.

"That's two things." Sasuke said, but figured that if he answered then Neji would leave sooner. "Look, if you're worried about there being something between me and Yusuke then relax. She was only hiding out in my apartment because she said she wanted a quiet place to think."

"And cooking for you was payment?" he asked.

"She did that on her own accord." Sasuke said, "But why confront me instead of just going to her about it? I'm sure Yusuke would tell you since you're her boyfriend and all."

Neji felt heat rush to his face but didn't feel the awkward embarrassment, just more rage. And before he could act on an impulse he simply scowled. "Next time just turn her away. It's not as though you're good friends."

Sasuke smirked, able to clearly see where this conversation was going as he put a hand on his hip and took a mocking pose. "I wouldn't say that we're _good_ friends, but she has shared quite a lot with me this past week. I probably know her better than you do."

Neji narrowed his eyes at the Uchiha, knowing he was being baited into a fight and he almost allowed himself to be dragged in. "Forget it, I'll just go find her myself and find out the truth."

"She's not here."

Neji looked at Sasuke. "What? How would you know?"

"She told me last night that she was leaving the village, but she didn't tell me where, just that she would be gone all day."

Neji turned away and left, a feeling of anger and jealousy brewing within him.

* * *

**AN: For those of you who have read my previous version of this sequel, you will notice that I've changed it dramatically. There will be a lot of foreshadowing in the first few chapters as a follow-up from "The Struggle" and please be warned that I've rated this story "M" for far later chapters. There may or may not be lemons in the future. And i also expect a lot more reviews/comments. **

**Ciao for now!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"So…Sarutobi left his title to you in his will." Genkai said, sitting across from her student and her team in a small tatami matted room. Tea had been served by Yukina who was staying with Genkai.

Yusuke sighed, "Yeah…"

"So I'm assuming that you're seeking my guidance as your teacher?" Genkai asked before taking a careful sip of her hot tea.

"No," Yusuke replied, her eyes cast down at her tea cup. Kurama and Kuwabara looked at their team leader expectantly, waiting with baited breath for her answer. Genkai then looked up at her student, also waiting. Yusuke lifted her gaze to Genkai and her teacher smiled and then nodded.

"I support your decision, Yusu." the old woman said, putting her tea down.

* * *

"Geez, Urameshi, you sure you want to give them that answer?" Kuwabara asked as he, Yusuke, and Kurama returned to their village, walking in through the open gates together.

"Well yeah, why not? I've had all week to think about it." Yusuke said.

"Hopefully you won't regret it later." Kurama said.

"Eeehh?! Even you, Kurama?!" Yusuke said, "What happened to having my back no matter what?!"

Kurama smiled reassuringly, "Relax, Yusu, you can count on your friends to support you with whatever you decide."

"Yeah, even if it is a dumb decision." Kuwabara said.

"Why you…" Yusuke said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, hey Neji." Kuwabara said, making Yusuke look ahead to see the Hyuuga standing firmly in their path.

"Neji…what are you doing here?" Yusuke asked as the three of them stopped in front of the Hyuuga prodigy. Without even giving an answer, Yusuke was suddenly tied up, her arms, hands, and legs bound and then hoisted onto Neji's shoulder before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Kuwabara and Kurama were left in their wake, perplexed by what just happened as they both sweat-dropped.

* * *

As soon as Neji was sure that they were far away enough from prying ears and eyes, he dropped Yusuke on the ground without much care.

"Ouch! Dammit, what's your problem, Neji?!" Yusuke yelled, "Untie me, bastard!"

"I know that you have been hiding away in Uchiha's apartment all week." Neji said, getting straight to the topic that was burning holes in his mind. Yusuke had stopped struggling as she looked up at him.

"Yeah, so what?"

He lowered himself down to one knee and untied the bindings on her. Yusuke stood up quickly.

"Is that why you kidnapped me? Just to tell me you knew where I had been hiding out all week?" she asked, looking at him. "You're being paranoid, Neji, more so than usual."

He turned her way and swung his right arm around, slapping Yusuke across the face. Her head snapping to the right. For a few seconds she stood paralyzed with shock before finally turning her head back forward slowly. She touched her stinging cheek with her hand and looked at Neji with wide eyes that asked him why.

"Wh—what the hell…?"

Neji's fists were clenched tightly at his sides as he struggled to reign in his emotions. "You have me, Yusuke…I've always been there when you needed someone." his voice was trembling. "So why? Why did you go to him? Why make him dinners? Sleep in his home? Take comfort in his company?"

Yusuke was taken aback by Neji. She had never seen him like this. Falling apart little by little no matter how hard he tried to keep himself together.

"Why him?!" he yelled.

She broke his heart.

Yusuke wanted to take that step forward and embrace him, tell him that it was all going to be all right but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to do it. Because she had suddenly thought: _why?_ Why _did_ she go to Sasuke and not Neji? It wasn't as though Neji was going to really question her motives if she had told him what she had told Sasuke. On top of that, Sasuke was a stranger when compared to Neji. So why?

"I don't…really know why." she replied softly.

Enraged by her answer Neji shoved her back into a tree and without stopping to think he kissed her. Yusuke's eyes widened with shock, her brain unable to process anything fast enough as she just stood there between a tree and Neji.

When Neji pulled back he didn't make eye contact with her. He just muttered a quick apology and ran away, leaving a stunned Yusuke behind. And when Yusuke finally was able to process what had just happened she tenderly touched her lips.

Their first kiss.

It was rough and clumsy and awkward.

* * *

Yusuke had walked back into the village. After she had gotten over her initial shock, naturally anger and annoyance settled in and took root as she mumbled and cursed Neji for being a paranoid bastard and stealing her first kiss.

"There you are! Where the heck have you been?" Kuwabara said, coming up to Yusuke. "Hey, Neji didn't do anything weird to you, did he?"

Yusuke thought of the kiss and turned red. "N-no! Baka! Just stay out of my business!"

"What the heck! Kurama and I were worried about you after Neji kidnapped you and all. Jeez, well since you're here and all I guess nothing bad went down between you guys."

"Wh-why would it? There's no problem at all." Yusuke said, laughing nervously as she kept walking. "Anyways, I've gotta go and give the council my answer. It's very important after all."

"Oh, yeah, I'll come with you. I think Kurama and Koenma are already there."

"Great, the more the merrier."

* * *

Once more, Yusuke found herself standing before the council, finally ready to give them her answer. She had given it a long time, and her visit with Genkai only helped her solidify her resolve.

"I accept." she said.

"Took you long enough." Koharu said.

Danzou had stood up from his seat and made his way to the door, but not before stopping in front of Yusuke and glaring down at her with his one eye. "If the people of Konoha have any sense, they will never accept a brat like you as Hokage." he said and then took his leave.

"I must say I am quite relieved," said Homura, "We mustn't waste any more time and prepare for your coronation at once."

Yusuke was then lead away to begin her preperations for her new job, immediately being forced to study to the rules and laws of Konoha. Memorize which shinobi was in which category and so on.

And as the days went on leading up to her coronation, Yusuke quickly felt overwhelmed by all the responsibilities and protocols and regretted her decision of accepting.

Yusuke sat behind the desk, wearing the Hokage robes with the sleeves rolled up so that her hands could be seen, and the hat with the kanji of fire kept falling over her eyes. The two elders were once more going over the basic etiquettes of a Hokage with her, but Yusuke was only half listening as she wearily eyed the many towering stacks of paper piled up on and around the desk.

She sighed, knowing it'll take her ages to do them all.

"…and furthermore, as the new Hokage you must make a public appearance and announce to the village that you are their new leader." said Koharu.

"Your inauguration ceremony will take place in a few days." said Homura.

"And as your first duty as our Godaime, why not get started with all of this paper work?" said Koharu.

At that Yusuke let her head drop onto the desk with a dull **thunk**, groaning over her unfortunate luck as a new-found respect for the late Hokage formed.

* * *

Each passing day after announcing herself as the Godaime, Yusuke spent hours and hours reading through reports, sign important documents, assign missions to shinobis who gave her an odd look and then yell at them to get their butts into gear. Attend a dull council meeting with the village elders, listen to strategic plans with the jounins about finding Orochimaru's whereabouts, take a ten minute nap, be rudely awakened by Kotetsu and Izumou who would bring in more stacks of paper work, and repeat.

By the end of the first month, almost all of the paperwork had been signed and sorted neatly into files, which Yusuke was quite pleased about (though the two elders kept an eagle eye over her, making sure she stayed on task). She even promoted Shikamaru to chuunin level and a few chuunins to the jounin level.

Only twice had Yusuke managed to sneak away, only to get caught by either Izumou or Kotetsu who have been cleaning out the Sandaime's belongings from the office and putting it all into storage. The second time, Yusuke ended up hanging outside the window while Kotetsu and Izumou were holding onto her Hokage robes, trying to pull her back in, and honestly, Yusuke was not particularly happy.

It was well past noon and Yusuke was reading through a missions report, convincing herself that it was a break from all the documents that needed to be approved of with her signature.

"Looks like you've been rather busy."

Yusuke looked over her left shoulder, not at all surprised to see Jiraiya leaning against the book shelf, his arms folded over her chest.

"You look like a child in those robes." Jiraiya said with a teasing grin as he walked over to the desk and sat down on one of the guest chairs. "I finally got your message. By the way, your spirit beast isn't exactly an ideal messenger."

"I was wondering when you'd show up, Jiraiya-baka." Yusuke said in a rather business-like manner as she returned to reading the missions report. The one month of being Hokage and already she was acting professional. "I'm giving you a mission to find somebody for me."

Jiraiya arched an eyebrow. "A mission to find someone? And who may I ask does the adorable Hokage-chan need me to find?"

Yusuke slightly twitched at the way Jiraiya addressed her, getting enough of _that_ from her family. But ignored it all the same. "I need you to find Tsunade for me."

"N-NANI?!" Jiraiya said with shock. "Do you have any idea how long it would take me to find that banshee?! I don't even know where to start!"

"If I recall Genkai baa-chan's visit from yesterday, Tsunade can be found heading towards the castle town. So get a move on and bring her here."

"Are you insane?!" Jiraiya screamed.

Yusuke slammed both her hands down on the desk as she shot up to her feet. "Listen! I'm asking you to find Tsunade because she's going to take the position as Hokage!"

"Oh, is that it?"

"Duh! Do you really think I could keep this crap up for the rest of my life? I've had a hard enough time keeping up as Spirit Detective!" Yusuke said as she sat back down. "Anyways, it's not like I can just get up and leave the village to find my own replacement. So I've already talked to the elders and they all agreed that I'd keep being Hokage until they find someone more 'suitable' for the job."

"As you wish, Hokage-chan!"

"Oh, and take Naruto with you, I've been getting a lot of complaints about him."

After Jiraiya left, Yusuke slumped over in her chair.

"I need a vacation."

The door opened to her office as Ibiki came in with a file folder in his hand and a serious look on his scarred face.

"Hokage-dono, there seems to be a problem." Ibiki began as he approached Yusuke who remained seated.

"Don't tell me it's Naruto again?" Yusuke groaned.

"Iie, two of the guards at the west gate were found unconscious. Both claiming that two men, wearing cloaks with red cloud patterns on them may have infiltrated the village. One of which carries a large sword."

"Infiltrated?" Yusuke repeated as Ibiki handed her the folder. She flipped it open to read the report, her brows knitting together. _Uchiha Itachi? Uchiha...why does that name sound familiar...? Oh!_

"What are your orders, Hokage-dono?"

Yusuke closed the folder and tossed it onto her desk as she leaned back in her seat with a frustrated sigh. "Inform the jounins and Anbu to keep on high alert, but that's all. It'd be pretty bad if the whole village went into a panic." Yusuke said as she stood up from her seat and walked around her desk.

"Hai." Ibiki said, leaving the room in a puff of smoke.

Yusuke sighed again as she unlatched the lock on the window and slid the glass sheet open. She breathed in the summer air as she put one foot onto the sill and her hands on the edges of the frame. She looked back at the door for a moment, feeling like she was being watched and then jumped out.

* * *

It had been a month since Neji last spoke to Yusuke and when he learned that she had become the new Hokage he could only feel that the distance between them was so far that no matter what he did, he would never be able to catch up. He felt rather depressed and withdrawn from the world but maintained a front with his teammates so that they wouldn't pry into his personal drama.

He wanted to speak to Yusuke and apologize properly but with her schedule being so full he had no chance. Everyday he agonized over the memory of him stealing their first kiss together in the woods.

Left alone with his thoughts, he meditated on the reason why he was so angry and jealous of Yusuke and Sasuke together when he came to the conclusion that he was simply in love with Yusuke. And the very notion that Sasuke had more potential than he did to catch up to and be equal to Yusuke only made him insecure.

Yusuke had started off as his greatest rival and along the way they had gotten close, or at least, it felt that way for him. But ever since the chuunin exams and witnessing the strength of the Uchiha in the forest of death, he knew deep down that Sasuke was the one to keep an eye on.

To worry about losing your first love to another was something that Neji had never thought would be a dilemma he would have to face. Especially when concerning Yusuke. But…since when did he realize that he was in love with her?

* * *

"Dammit, all that sitting around and signing papers has really made my muscles stiff." Yusuke said to herself, stretching out a kink in her neck from where she sat up in a tree. "Doesn't help that I'm being followed."

"Ho ho! So the brat knows we were following her." Yusuke looked behind her to see two men standing on the branch of tree. Both wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them. One was smaller than the other. The big one was…blue? With shark-like features, carrying a halberd strapped to his back.

Shurikens came flying out of nowhere at Yusuke, who quickly jumped backwards and out of the way. She flickered out of sight with great speed and landed on the paved road of the park she was in. She came to this area specifically because no one was around.

"The little bitch is quite fast on her feet, isn't she? Interesting." said the shark-man as he and his partner stalked Yusuke out into the open.

_Relax, Yusuke, they're human, how strong can they be?_ she thought.

Kakashi then appeared, standing in front of Yusuke like a human shield. "You shouldn't stalk young girls, Uchiha Itachi."

"Hatake Kakashi, an unofficial Uchiha..." said the smaller man in an icy tone.

The silver-haired jounin frowned. "What were you doing following the Hokage? You were here during the chuunin exams weren't you?"

"Nothing concerning you, there's nothing you have to particularly worry about," the Uchiha commented offhandedly. "But I am curious as to why the new Hokage is a child."

Kakashi's frown darkened. "Does it have something to do with the Kyuubi?"

"Hey, I got this. I'm not afraid of them." Yusuke said.

"Sorry, Hokage-dono, but it's my priority to keep you safe." Kakashi said, "Please, stand back and let us handle this."

"Us?" Yusuke asked just as Asuma and Kurenai appeared, pulling her away. "Hey, wait, just who the hell are they?"

"Kisame and Itachi. They're both missing-nins." Kurenai said.

Kakashi dodged the parry of attacks from Kisame's sword. He frowned, unable to use his jutsus freely with the wretched sword in range. Glancing briefly at the sidelines, he could see the murderer of the Uchiha clan staring indifferently at the battle. Growling, he quickly dodged the last parry and quickly swept at Kisame's legs, but the shark-like man has already dodged and jumped out of his range.

"Kisame, that's enough," Itachi ordered as his Sharingan activated.

"I was beginning to have fun!" he sighed as he hauled the chakra-eating sword over his shoulder. His companion gave him no reply as he walked towards Kakashi. The silver-haired jounin quickly closed his normal eye and stood defensively as the Uchiha stopped short of him of three yards.

"What does Akatsuki want with the Hokage?" the jounin demanded an answer. "She's just a child!"

"I really don't want to fight you. You're just a mere irritant, but owning a Sharingan eye..." At the mere movement of Itachi's fingers, Kakashi quickly formed a set of hand seals and slammed them onto the ground. A wall of dirt raised around him to protect him in any attacks from the Uchiha.

_He's fast._ Kakashi thought as the wall slowly parted, allowing him to see Itachi in the same position as before with two shurikens in his hand.

"So easily excited... What a disgrace to Sharingan users," Itachi commented impassively. "But enough playing don't you agree, Hatake Kakashi?"

Suddenly, a high blast of energy sped towards Itachi, forcing the Sharingan user to leap back to avoid getting hit. Everyone looked to the side to see Yusuke, her right arm raised before her. Her Hokage robes rustling in the wake of the blast.

"She's even more interesting now." Kisame said.

"Hokage-dono, don't get involved! These men are both S-class criminals!" Kurenai said. But Yusuke took no heed to the warning as she walked up to the two opposing parties.

"Criminals or not, they're in _my_ village." Yusuke said, her right index finger beginning to glow with a blue light as it powered up. "And _I _know nobody invited them."

Yusuke pointed her Spirit Gun at Itachi and fired again. The Sharingan user was a bit surprised but jumped out of the way in time with his partner onto the water surface.

"That brat ain't normal." Kisame said through gritted teeth, glaring up at Yusuke who lowered her arm and stared back at them both.

"A sad moment for Konoha, indeed. Relying on the strength of a _child_." Itachi said in his cool manner.

"It'll be an even sadder day when _this child_ kicks your asses to kingdom come!" Yusuke said, vanishing and then appearing in front of Itachi with unfathomable speed. She thrust both her palms forward, hitting Itachi right into his stomach, sending the Uchiha skidding back across the water surface.

"A-amazing…!" Kurenai gasped with eyes. "She's managed to actually _hit_ Itachi."

"Well…she's fought stronger opponents if you recall the Dark Tournament." Asuma said.

Yusuke sped towards Kisame with a kunai in her right hand. The shark-faced man only grinned, showing off his sharp teeth as he swung his halberd at the girl, only to slice through an after-image of her. After a moment, he looked up to see Yusuke balanced in a crouching position on the end of his chakra-eating sword.

"Baka." and then Yusuke threw her kunai at Kisame, the sharp blade embedding itself into his shoulder. Kisame cringed at the pain as he swung his halberd to throw Yusuke off, who voluntarily back-flipped onto the surface of the water.

"Hokage-dono! Behind you!" Kakashi warned.

"Yep!" Yusuke replied as she jumped straight into the air just as Itachi took a swipe at her with a kunai. Twisting in midair, Yusuke pointed her Spirit Gun down at him and fired.

Itachi and Kisame both jumped back to the bank as the blast of energy created an explosion of water to rain down within the area.

"I'm beginning to see why this kid is Hokage." Kisame muttered as Yusuke landed nimbly onto the water's surface again.

"Darn, that blast would've hit if they just stayed still." Yusuke said, her cocky self already returned to the surface after a month of being buried under the professional Hokage Yusuke.

"Now is not the time for jokes, Hokage-dono." Kakashi said, as a sweat-drop appeared at the top of his head.

"C'mon, give me a break, this is the most fun I've had all month! Nii-san's no fun during our sparring sessions." Yusuke said, putting her hands on her hips where her sleeves fell over them again. "Gah!"

"What is it?" Asuma asked, startled a bit by Yusuke's outburst.

"These stupid sleeves never stay up!" Yusuke complained as she shook her arms to shimmy the sleeves back up, while the three jounins all sweat-dropped, feeling somewhat humiliated of their "leader."

"She may be young but at least she's amusing." Kisame said.

"AH, screw it!" Yusuke yelled from across the way, as she took off the robe and threw it at Asuma. A skin-tight, black, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of baggy khaki pants was what Yusuke was wearing underneath the Hokage robe.

"Hokage-dono…" Asuma said, rather stunned.

"It's been awhile since I've had a real fight." Yusuke said as she rolled a knot out of her shoulder. "A month in that damn office and already I'm starting to lose my edge."

"Cocky kid." Kisame scuffed.

"If her skills have dulled, then the difference is unnoticeable." Itachi said, "But, on the other hand…"

Without warning, Itachi charged forward and lashed out at Yusuke who flipped backwards across the water. Crouching low, Yusuke channeled her chakra into both fists, waiting for Itachi to get closer.

When he was less than arms length away, Yusuke swung out her right arm, aiming her fist for his face but Itachi dodged in time. Kisame had ran in from behind, swinging his sword down on Yusuke who side-stepped and slammed her foot down on the chakra eating blade.

_This girl has a great amount of chakra control._ Itachi thought as he dodged an elbow and a kick. _She truly does deserve the title such as Hokage, but it's obvious she's still innocent and naïve to the cruel reality of mankind._

Yusuke spun mid-air, kicking Kisame in the chest and knocking him back several feet. She focused her ki into her right finger, preparing to shoot another Spirit Gun. In a flicker of an eye, Itachi was standing in front of Yusuke, looking down at the young Hokage as his Sharingan eyes began to turn. Yusuke was lost within his hypnotizing gaze, her focus dispelled as her eyes widened and began to glaze over.

Itachi grabbed the girl by the throat, lifting her off her feet as he stared deeply into her darkening eyes.

"Hokage-dono!"

"Suffer." Itachi hissed.

"Hokage-dono!" Kakashi called, running out to Yusuke and Itachi with Asuma and Kurenai right behind him.

Yusuke felt her grip on her conscious mind slipping as she continued to stare into Itachi's spinning Sharingan eyes.

"_Suffer…"_ Itachi's voice seemed to ring through her mind.

_What the hell…? I can't look away…!_

"Yusuke!"

_Who's calling me?_

"Yusuke!"

_Kakashi-san? Kurenai-san? Asuma-san? What's happening?_

"_Suffer…"_

Yusuke's eyes then widened as she came back to reality and kicked Itachi in the chest, being released and dropping into the water with a splash. Rising to the top, she coughed for air and pulled herself out of the water.

"What the hell was that?!" Yusuke gagged as she glared at Itachi who was composing himself from Yusuke's kick in the chest.

Again Itachi sprang forward without warning to attack the leaf ninjas—his main target was the young Hokage. But the copycat-nin deflected the shurikens with a kunai and quickly pushed Yusuke back as he sidestepped and began performing a roundhouse kick. At contact, the body dispersed into smoke before a slender hand caught him by the throat and forced him to his knees.

"Kage Bunshin?" The other gazed into his eye deeply and brought him to the illusionary world with the red moon.

"Kakashi-san!" Yusuke said.

In seconds, Kakashi's body stiffens as he experienced an eternity of torture. Soon after the Uchiha released him from the world of the red moon, he gave a brief shout of agony. Itachi closed his eyes as he released the jounin's neck and allowed him to slump lifelessly to the ground. Yusuke caught the jounin, falling to her knees from the weight.

"Hey! You okay?" Yusuke asked, shaking Kakashi's unresponsive body.

"Your screams are feeble, but I'll give you your death soon enough."

Yusuke covered Kakashi's head with her body just as Itachi was about to raise his foot to crush the jounin's and the child-Hokage when, "KONOHA HURRICANE!" The green beast arrived... Unfortunately, his attack missed.

"Another imbecile," Itachi sighed.

"Are you afraid of the great Maito Gai?" The Green Beast of Konoha boasts as he stood protectively, yet comfortably in front of Kakashi and Yusuke.

"I don't have time to deal with the likes of you. Kisame," he ordered. His companion followed faithfully as he jumped over the railings and ran off atop of the water.

Gai released a breath of relief as he hauled Kakashi's defeated body over his shoulder. "Hokage-dono, are you hurt?"

"Kakashi-san, is he…?" Yusuke began as Kurenai had come over and assisted her up to her feet.

"You shouldn't worry about him, Hokage-dono. Kakashi-san will be just fine." Kurenai reassured as if Yusuke were just an ordinary child.

"We're facing some enemy, eh, Kakashi?" he murmured to his unconscious companion as he hurried back to Kakashi's apartment with Yusuke, Asuma and Kurenai right behind.

* * *

"How is he?" Kurenai asked as she entered the room. Asuma had arrived earlier and taken a seat near the window.

"Still the same," he replied.

"Itachi did this?" she strides towards Kakashi's bed, knelt down, and briefly brushed his hair from his eyes. "But isn't he just a child?"

"You haven't heard of the Uchiha massacre?" Gai inquired as he sat sullenly in the seat across from Asuma.

"Who hasn't?" Yusuke snorted from where she leaned against the door. "Hell, even I've heard about it."

Kurenai's eyes widened. "He was the one..." she trailed off. "But what does he want? There's nothing left in Konoha for him."

"There's still Sasuke, but I don't think he's after his little brother," Gai murmured as he glanced over at Yusuke.

"He's with this Akatsuki group you've mentioned earlier," Asuma muttered through his cigarette. "The question is probably what _they_ want, not what _he_ wants."

"Then—" Gai quickly silenced the crimson-eyed jounin as he heard footsteps neared. And with a short shriek coming from Yusuke they all looked over to the door.

"Kakashi, what's going—" Sasuke stopped when he opened the door, barely missed having the young Hokage fall on him. A frown marred his face when he looked up from the young Hokage on the floor and saw the silver-haired jounin asleep on his bed along with three other jounins around him. "I'm sure it doesn't take three people to wake him up," he commented dryly, as Yusuke stood back up, rubbing her back.

A rapid set of footsteps ran up the steps as Sasuke turned. "Is it true? Uchiha Itachi is back?" the moronic fool that ran in spouting the news froze upon seeing Sasuke.

"I-tachi?" Sasuke whispered. A twitch reached his right eye as his fists clenched and unclenched.

"You idiot," Yusuke and the three jounins muttered under their breaths.

A flash crossed Sasuke's eyes as a dark memory crossed his mind. _Get stronger foolish little brother... Or I will kill those who will become dear to you._

Gai frowned as he noticed Sasuke slowly backing away from them. "Sasuke, wait!" He was too late as the Uchiha boy dashed out of the room. He quickly turned to the others, "Keep watch on Kakashi, I'm going after him," he quickly ran out after the boy but was stopped by Yusuke who held her arm out to create a barrier at the door. "Hokage-dono—"

"Let him go, he needs to deal with whatever it is that's bothering him." Yusuke said, back in her Hokage-mode.

"But if someone doesn't stop him—"

"Ibiki told me all I needed to know, hell, even Genkai told me a little about him. Just stay here and keep an eye over Kakashi-san's condition." Yusuke said, as she turned to leave the apartment.

"And what do you plan to do?" Kurenai asked.

"Nothing. Just let him be stupid on his own." Yusuke said, and left the apartment.

* * *

**AN: Review/comment! I'm going to be away for awhile so I won't be posting chapter 3 until I get back! Ciao for now!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Itachi," Sasuke growled at the elder Uchiha as Naruto looked at him with confusion.

"My foolish little brother... Have you gotten any stronger since the last time we've met?"

"You killed our clan! How could you?" Sasuke roared; his Sharingan flickered onto his eyes.

"Hn," Itachi hummed with disinterest. "Still a child, I see."

"So are we taking the Kyuubi vessel by force?" Kisame asked with amusement.

"I'm not letting you get away, Itachi!" Sasuke snapped, his chakra surged as electricity gathered in his hands. The chidori crackling in his palm.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted as the boy launched forward.

As Sasuke threw his chidori, he recoiled from the release, leaving him open to a frontal attack. Sasuke was almost bewildered that his brother could easily knock his chidori aside with such ease.

"Something wrong?" Kisame grinned.

Itachi's eyes danced with amusement as he snapped his wrist and sent a few shurikens at Sasuke. And before Sasuke knew it, he was kicked by his brother and sent slamming into the wall at the end of the hallway.

Standing up, Sasuke was unprepared for the on-coming assault from his brother, as was beaten mercilessly. He keeled over after being punched in the stomach and then slammed forcedly into the wall again with Itachi's hand gripped tightly around his throat.

Itachi leaned in close, his lips at Sasuke's ear as he whispered, "Why are you so weak?" Pulling back, he stared deeply into Sasuke's eyes, his Sharingan spinning, plunging Sasuke into a world with the red moon.

"Hey! Why don't you fight someone more at your level?" Itachi looked slowly to his right to see the young Hokage standing before him. "I don't know what the reason for your return is, but I will not stand for this!"

"And what would you—no, let me correct myself, _can_ you do?" he mocked, his eyes bore into hers as the wheels of his Sharingan turned.

"Funny you should ask." Yusuke said with a smirk, raising her right arm and firing her Spirit Gun at the older Uchiha.

Itachi released his brother as he jumped back, returning to his partner's side as Naruto ran over to Sasuke as the younger Uchiha slumped to the ground like Kakashi had. Yusuke ran after Itachi, her fist raised to begin an onslaught of punches that Itachi was able to keep up with thanks to his blood limit.

_She has a lot more chakra than I thought._ Itachi noted, eyeing the young Hokage.

Kisame lowered his halberd, getting ready to use it to cut through the child Hokage as she came closer with her rapid punches to the Uchiha; however, the window exploded and a thick tongue assaulted him. He dodged, raising his halberd as a defense while Itachi and Yusuke ceased their fight to avoid the debris.

Jiraiya arrived through the opening with a woman on his shoulder. Noticing the situation, Naruto, Sasuke, and to his luck the young Hokage, he cursed under his breath before turning to Itachi. "Uchiha Itachi!" he growled dangerously as he dropped the woman unceremoniously in the hall.

The older Uchiha stood impassively, unresponsive towards the other's anger. "Seems like we took too long, Kisame. He's gotten the woman out of the genjutsu already," he murmured in disinterest.

"Escape?" Kisame suggested.

"Not likely," Jiraiya's eyes flared dangerously with anger. His hands disappear in a blur as he performs a set of hand seals and slams his hands into the ground. The wooden floor cracks at his assault as a fleshy substance grew and materialize from the hotel's walls and floors.

"I'll kill him!" Naruto roared as he was about to move.

"Cool your head, blondie." Yusuke said, as she held up her arm to stop Naruto. The blonde froze, unconsciously responding to Yusuke's order through the month of responding to calling her Hokage; however, he was still fighting the temptation to murder the older Uchiha.

Itachi stared at the fleshy walls before he noticed his sandals dissolving. Kisame was about to swing his sword about in an attempt to slice the fleshy wall away, but Itachi caught onto his arm and halted him. "We'll continue this another time. Retreat for now." Hesitantly nodding, he followed Itachi's lead and ran away from the room and soon an explosion occurred, notifying the room occupants that the two have escaped.

Jiraiya quickly released the summoning jutsu and ran after them. "Watch over Sasuke!" Naruto turned to run after Jiraiya.

"What do I look like, a daycare?" Yusuke huffed though she didn't go after them. She went back to where Sasuke laid, sitting him up against the wall and began to use the Spirit Wave to heal his physical injuries.

There was no way Naruto was going to let Itachi off after that last stunt. When he found the Toad Sage at the burning opening, he paused. "Ero-sennin."

"Return to Sasuke," the man said as he kneeled down with a scroll opened to the ground.

"But—"

"You're no use now! Just go back to your teammate, I'll be there in a moment," he said. Naruto reluctantly ran back to the room where he saw Yusuke healing his teammate.

"You know medical jutsu?" Naruto asked.

"No, I'm just using my own ki to heal him." Yusuke said before she stopped and sat back on the floor with a sigh. "Man, this day just keeps getting worse."

"Say, Yusu-nee…I've been meaning to ask you this…now that you're Hokage what will happen to your Spirit Detective job?"

"Nothing," she replied, "Kuwabara and the guys will handle it but if it's a big case then of course I'll be joining them. It's kinda the reason why I've sent for Jiraiya so that he could—"

"All right, kiddos! Let's head back!" Jiraiya said.

* * *

"Damn it! I said I'm all right!" Yusuke yelled as she fought with the medics who were trying their hardest to keep her in bed within the hospital.

"But Hokage-dono, you should rest until—" one of the medics huffed but was cut off by Yusuke's cursing.

"How many times do I have to say it?! I'm all right!" Yusuke said, as she struggled towards the door of her room with three medics trying as hard as they could to pull her back. "Almost…there…" she said, her hand outstretched towards the door handle when the door opened.

"Hey, Urameshi, Kurama and I came to—" Kuwabara stopped mid-sentence at the sight of three medics trying to stop Yusuke from leaving, their attempts failing as the girl was right in front of the door.

"Yusu-chan, why aren't you in bed?" Kurama asked with a frown on his lips.

"That's what we've been trying to tell her, but she just won't listen!" said a medic.

"Hokage-dono, please…you're in no condition to be walking around after your battle with two S-class criminals." said a medic, his face sweaty from trying to pull Yusuke back.

"But I'm not even hurt!" Yusuke shouted back at the three medics, clinging onto her as they continued to pull. "If anything, you guys should be checking in on _him_!" Yusuke said, pointing to the bed across the room where Sasuke laid unconscious.

"But, Hokage-dono…"

"Also, LET GO OF ME!"

After a minute or two of medics scrambling about in the room, Yusuke was sitting up in her hospital bed, conversing with her two teammates.

"So the mission went well, huh?" Yusuke asked.

"As Koenma predicted, many tears between dimensions have been appearing and then disappearing around Kumo country." Kurama said.

"And to top that, it wasn't even demon energy. It was some kind of strange energy that neither Kurama nor I have felt. It literally made me sick after sensing it the first time." Kuwabara said.

"But…I thought Koenma said these tears were related to Makai?" Yusuke speculated.

"Apparently not, but rifts such as these serve as tunnels between the worlds, which explains the strange creatures that have been coming through. But these tears are rare and only last for a short amount of time." Kurama said.

"Weird." Yusuke muttered.

"It's nothing to be worried about, really, nothing came out this time." Kurama reassured.

"So, Urameshi, how'd you land in the hospital? Too many employee parties?" Kuwabara teased, earning a smack over the head by Yusuke.

"Nothing like that, baka!" Yusuke yelled, "I just had a run in with a pair of S-class criminals and used up too much reiki, is all!"

"You what?!" Kuwabara said in surprise.

"I just hope Jiraiya-baka and Naruto find her soon." Yusuke said, looking straight across the room to the other bed where Sasuke laid unconscious.

"Where are you going, Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked, seeing that Yusuke had gotten up and was heading towards the door.

"Oh, just out to stretch my legs." Yusuke said casually over her shoulder, reaching the door at last.

"She's making a run for it." Kurama said, standing up with Kuwabara.

_Just a little further and I'm outta here!_ Yusuke thought, reaching for the door knob when suddenly…

"Omph!"

…Kuwabara and Kurama tackled her to the ground and hauled her back into bed, kicking and screaming.

Unfortunately for them, that was a bad move because the next day…

* * *

"Man, now I know she's just abusing her power." Kuwabara scuffed as he and Kurama stood by the gate.

"Well, she is the Hokage now, so essentially she's doing her job by assigning us to do these things." Kurama said, though he too was in dismay.

"But watching the gate for a week?! That's just not right!" Kuwabara wailed. "DARN YOU, URAMESHI!"

* * *

"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"

"Are you catching a cold, Hokage-dono?" asked Izumou as he took another stack of finished documents into his arms. "Would you like me to close the window?"

"Nah! I'm fine!" Yusuke said, rubbing her nose, "You know the old saying when you sneeze three times, right? I guess not everybody likes me being Hokage."

_Heh, heh! You two brought this upon yourself, now suffer!_ Yusuke thought darkly as she smirked while reading a missions report.

* * *

Asuma walked through the gates with his students. He glanced over at his side, seeing Yusuke's two teammates looking rather defeated just standing by the gate.

"Guard duty, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah…" they both replied glumly.

Elsewhere in a secret room…

* * *

"Five, six, four! Odd!" announced the dice man.

"I won, again?" wondered a blond woman.

"Yatta! Tsunade-sama! You've won again!" a younger woman cheered as she gathered the large amount of winnings. "God of luck has been on your side hasn't it, Tsunade-sama?"

The woman named Tsunade frowned as she stood up and walked away. "Let's go Shizune."

"Eh? Tsunade-sama!" the young woman Shizune quickly packed away the last of the winnings and chased after Tsunade with a pig in her arms.

_That's the twentieth win today,_ frowned the blond woman as she crossed her arms in her walk. _Something isn't right here._

"Tsunade-sama, why did you leave? You won over 50,000 ryos!" complained Shizune as she caught up to her side.

"Don't feel like playing today, lets go onto the next city," murmured the concerned woman as she hurried towards the town's north entrance.

Shizune halted briefly in surprise. "Tsunade-sama... Are you feeling well today?"

"It's nothing just—" the blond haired woman quickly turned at a new presence. "Come out, I know you're there!"

"Ku, ku, ku, it's been a while Tsunade," chuckled a dark voice.

Tsunade's brown eyes narrowed in suspicion at the appearance of her old teammate and a strange young man at his side. "Orochimaru?"

"It's very fortunate of me to find you this easily," chuckle the pale skinned sannin. "I thought I would have to hunt down Genkai before finding you."

The woman frowned. "Genkai-sensei? What's so important that you need her to find me?" Shizune stood at her side cautiously as she stared at the pair.

"I need you to heal these arms," Orochimaru attempted to lift his arms.

"What happened to them?" Tsunade and Shizune's minds were racing through possibilities in damaging an arm to this extent and quickly drew conclusions before the other had even answered. Neither liked their conclusions much.

"Sarutobi happened to them as I was invading Konoha," said the man almost cheerily.

"Cut to the chase, you want me to heal your pathetic sorry ass," she tossed her hair over her shoulder with one hand at her hip. With her feet firmly planted apart on the ground she leaned forward with a scowl. "And what makes you think I would give a fuck that I will heal you?"

"I can bring back the loved ones you lost," coaxed Orochimaru as he watched the woman stiff with her eyes widening.

"Tsunade-sama..." Shizune turned to the woman with a discomforted face.

"I created a new jutsu that can bring the dead back to life." Tsunade remained silent as she slowly stood back into composure. Orochimaru smirked as he saw his words take an effect.

Shizune looked between the two before biting her lower lip. "And what will you do if Tsunade-sama heals your arm?"

"Why, destroy Konoha of course!" smirked the man.

"Forget it! Tsunade-sama will do no such thing!" protested the ebony haired woman.

Orochimaru could only continue to laugh. "Even if you refuse, Tsunade, my offer still stands." And he and Kabuto were gone.

As they left, Shizune looked at her worriedly. "Not even one concern for Konoha, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade closed her eyes and turned away. "Never again, let's go Shizune." Her over shirt billowed behind her as she walked.

"Ton-ton... I'm worried," muttered the younger woman.

"Phuei," answered the pig with her eyes squinted.

* * *

Yusuke sat at the head of the table, the Tsuchikage at her right while her two personal consults were on her left. Her attention was wavering between reality to her last conversation with Jiraiya before he and Naruto left in search of Tsunade.

_I wonder if Jiraiya has found Tsunade yet._ Yusuke wondered, completely zoning out what was being discussed in the meeting about an alliance that she could care less about at the moment.

"Hokage-dono…_Hokage-dono!_"

"What, damn it?!" Yusuke snapped, slapping her hand down on the polished wooden table.

Everyone in the room was now staring at her, and Yusuke then realized what she had said. Her face turned red.

"Becoming the youngest Kage in history, and she still makes obscene remarks like any other child." the Tsuchikage said with good humor.

"Hey, at least _this_ _child_ can still beat you in a marathon, you old geezer!" Yusuke said boldly, as everyone in the room gasped.

Silence engulfed the room.

The Tsuchikage narrowed his eyes at Yusuke before he broke down into a whole hearted laugh. Everyone began to join in the laughter, except Yusuke who flew across the table and grabbed hold of the Tsuchikage's robes.

"Hey! What the hell is so funny?!" she demanded, shaking the Tsuchikage who merely continued to laugh.

* * *

**At Genkai's Temple**

Genkai gave a sigh as she finished her cup of tea.

"That boy just doesn't know when to quit," she grumbled as she gulped down her tea. "Kid's starting to drive me up the wall more than that dimwit Yusu."

"GENKAI-BABA!" screamed Naruto's voice in a distance.

She gave a sigh of irritation. "Now what does the brat want?"

"GENKAI-BABA!" Naruto's voice screamed directly in front of her, nearly choking her with the shock of him being so close, so quickly.

She hammered her chest trying to clear her lungs after the hot liquid went down the wrong tube. Once she was sure she wasn't going to choke, she grabbed Naruto, wringing him by the neck. "You almost choked me to death, you dimwit!"

"Ack—" Naruto gagged, grasping onto her hands, trying to pry her fingers off.

_**Grumble, grumble**_

Genkai's hands dropped limply from Naruto's neck as he dropped to the ground coughing. The blonde sat up in surprise as the woman continued grumbling. He rubbed the side of his neck as he glanced up at the old woman.

"Well? Don't just sit there on the floor! If you have something to talk about, take a seat!" snapped the woman.

Naruto finally took a seat, but was uncertain where to start anymore.

"I doubt you're here to talk about me training you like I did with Yusu. I'm not a very patient old lady, now just get over the usual formalities slash uncomfortable stuttering and shy talk."

"I'm not shy and I don't stutter!" snapped the blonde irritably.

Genkai shrugged. "I don't care; just get to the point, dimwit."

"I want to know where Tsunade is," stated the boy.

"And what do you expect me to do?" drawled the old woman as she rests her head on her hand.

"You're a psychic aren't you? Can't you tell where she is?" snapped Naruto.

Genkai gave a sigh. "No can do brat."

"What do you mean you can't help us find Tsunade?" Naruto shouted irritably. "What kind of psychic are you?"

"One million ryo," the response threw Naruto off.

"Huh?"

Genkai smirked into her cup of tea. "Pay me a million ryo and I'll tell you where Tsunade is…"

"But I don't have that sort of money!" Naruto argued.

"Hmm…" the old woman hummed. "Or you can try forcing me to tell you..." a smirk, "That is if you can beat me."

"Defeat you?" snorted Naruto. "You're not even at your best!"

Genkai laughed merrily. "Are you afraid?"

Naruto was insulted. "Afraid? You're on old hag! I can take you! Me and you, outside, now!"

The old woman only raised an eyebrow. "Who said anything about a fight?"

"Huh?" Naruto tilted his head aside in confusion.

A cheeky smirk spread across Genkai's aged face as she held out a fist. "We're going to have a janken contest. Two out of three to win, five hundred ryos per game."

"What?" Naruto was further confused.

The old woman gave a sigh. "It's called a gamble. Besides, you don't think I would fight now, will you? Especially since Yusu has my Spirit Wave Orb now. A game of janken is so much more fun, and easier, too."

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. "Janken? Are you serious?"

The old woman grinned. "If you think you can beat me, then try boy. I bet even with your whole life savings, you can't beat me."

"So what are you betting?" glared Naruto as he wasn't exactly willing to part with his happy fat frog moneybag.

"Why, I'll help you find that worthless Tsunade of course! You think it's cheap to hire me? You should be happy I'll let you do something as easy as janken! Well, are you taking up the challenge or not?"

"Fine!" grumbled Naruto as he fished out five hundred ryos and slapped it down on the table.

And so... a ferocious battle of janken started between the two epic fighters... If you can call it that.

Genkai mentally snickered. _Fool, he doesn't even realize how easy it is to cheat in this game. I'll have him poorer then a bum in minutes._

* * *

Elsewhere, Tsunade was seated in front of a slot machine glaring at it with a twitching eye. Shizune laughed sheepishly as if trying to calm the other woman's tempter. It was then she noticed a blue penguin flying up to them and perching itself on Shizune's shoulder. In its mouth was a tattered envelope.

She tapped on the master of medics' shoulder. "Tsunade-sama, I think you have a letter."

"Hmm?" the woman responded irritably before looking up at the penguin. She picked it up with a hand and attempted to take the envelope, but the stubborn thing would let go. She glared with a faint twitch of her left eye as she saw a small note tied around its foot. "One thousand ryos for the letter!" she growled. "Must be Genkai-sensei," grumbled the woman.

_Of course, that old bat doesn't have dumb pets like these…What's her angle?_ Tsunade wondered. _It looks familiar..._

"Puu!" the blue creature chirped.

Shizune looked at the blue penguin and then back to Tsunade. "Are you going to pay for it?"

The Legendary Sucker sighed as she pulled out one thousand ryos and inserted it into the little pouch hanging around its neck-less body. The little creature chirped before dropping the letter on her lap and wriggled out of her grip and flew off. Tsunade ripped off the last of the envelope and in it was a single greeting card. Opening the card she muttered through the contents before staring at the last line. "What the hell?"

Shizune stared at mentor curiously. "What's the matter?"

The woman threw her the card. "Read it yourself," she muttered going back to her gambling.

Wondering what confused her mentor she caught the card and looked into the contents. Most of it was nonsense, but it was the last line that caught her attention. "Shift in power? What's that supposed to mean?"

* * *

Back at the temple, Naruto banged his head helplessly against the table as he lost his Gama-chan wallet. "HOW IS IT POSSIBLE? You're just an old hag!" he jumped up and pointed an accusing finger at Genkai. "You must have cheated!"

Genkai snorted as she tossed the overstuff wallet in her hand. "It's called talent, dimwit."

"You cheated! You used your powers to see into the future didn't you?" snapped Naruto.

He swore she rolled her eyes at that point. "My psychic powers aren't that intuitive all the time, not like Kuwabara's. Didn't that idiot teacher of yours tell you anything about heightening your sixth sense?"

Naruto paused. "My sixth sense?"

She sighed loudly. "You're hopeless. Look, like Yusuke, I too can channel my chakra and reiki into any point of my body, making it visible to the naked eye. But unlike Yusu, who is still learning, I am a master! I didn't become this powerful just from rituals and sight-seeing."

"But how can it be visible? I thought chakra was invisible!" retorted Naruto.

Genkai raised an eyebrow. "Is it now?" She waved it off. "Sheesh, then you weren't paying attention. The generation these days are pathetic, compared to what you kids can really do with those powers. You're going about this all wrong. Of course, you're still malleable."

Naruto glared at her suspiciously. "And how can you tell? You're old and bitter; you can't just tell our strengths just by looking at us."

"Baka," she smacked him over the head again; not because of his ignorance, just the matter that she found it fun hitting people and calling them an idiot. "You don't have to use your eyes two see. How did you think I've survived all these years without assessing how strong my opponents were?"

Naruto rubbed his head out of irritation. "Then how?"

"Dimwit, my sixth sense is much stronger than yours, and I have years of experience to back me up." grounded the woman.

The blonde tilted his head aside. "How did you use it?"

Genkai snorted again. "I'll be damned if I told you. I don't teach people for free (though Yusu was an exception). You'll have to find out yourself. Until then, you can challenge me over and over all you want and you still won't win."

"I don't even have the money to challenge you!" Naruto retorted.

"Well, that's too bad isn't it?" smirked the woman as she stood. She tossed the wallet playfully in her hand before raising a finger. "Can you see what is here?"

"What?" his eyes narrowed and stared at the empty space above her finger, but he saw nothing. Instead, he felt something emitting from there, but by then, she curled up her finger and the feeling dissipated.

"Too slow, I'm going to be here for only a few more days until I leave for Konoha again. So if you can't beat me by then, I'm not going to even bother."

"Damn it!" growled Naruto as he watched Genkai leave.

* * *

**AN: Review and comment!  
**

**Ciao for now!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"We're here." Genkai said blandly as she stopped in front of a casino.

"What are we doing here? I thought you said we're getting Tsunade, not more money for yourself," grumbled Naruto.

"I don't gamble; you were just a slight exception. Gambling would've wasted too much of my talent and energy. Tsunade is here!" she snapped.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "She's a gambler?"

Genkai sighed, "One of the worst. You should have seen her lose in the game Go-fish."

**DING, DING, DING!**

"YATTA! Tsunade-sama won again!" cheered a woman.

A sardonic grin crossed the blonde's face. "Worst huh?"

"Strange, must be a bad sign." Genkai muttered as she walked into the casino.

"Whatever you say Genkai-baba," sighed Naruto as he followed.

It wasn't long before they found the supposedly Legendary Sucker. Tsunade's face kept a constant frown each time she won. Shizune at her side was excited with each win until she saw Genkai and Naruto. "T-T-Tsunade-sama!"

"What is it, Shizune?" drawled the woman dully.

"Yo," Genkai waved with a dry look. "Long time no see, Tsunade."

Tsunade sighed and turned to the duo with a frown. "Funny, I didn't expect to see you for awhile."

"Seven days?" Genkai pondered for a moment. "Doesn't ring a bell. Of course, I haven't talked to you since the last time you dropped by my temple."

"And your little note?" Tsunade inquired dryly.

"What note?" Genkai asked.

"The note that that little blue flying penguin gave me after I gave it a thousand ryos!" Tsunade said irritably.

"Flying blue penguin?" Naruto wondered, when suddenly it clicked and he opened his mouth to recall when Genkai silenced him with a look.

"What do you want Genkai-sensei? I know you didn't just come for a visit. Where's your successor, Urameshi Yusuke, was it?"

"She's in Konoha, keeping the order and peace for as long as she can." Genkai replied simply.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "What does this have anything to do with me?"

"Everything." replied Genkai.

Tsunade scowled at the woman before turning to Naruto; the boy looked straight at her. "Ero-sennin never told me why we're looking for you." His eyes narrowed. "But I can probably guess." Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "He was told by Yusuke nee-chan to find someone to take up the position of Hokage because she doesn't want the job." He glanced over to Genkai. "Genkai-baba refused. So, that's probably one of the reasons why he's looking for you, but he was looking for you even before we found the old hag."

"Genkai-sensei," Tsunade turned to the grinning woman. "How long will it be when Jiraiya gets here?"

"100,000 ryos," answered the woman.

The sannin sighed. "Shizune..." her assistant reluctantly handed a sack of the winnings to Genkai.

"Somewhere around tonight and tomorrow morning," the woman heaved the bag and weighed it with her inner weighing system. "Don't worry, that note you received was probably from Yusu herself, she is the Godaime now. She was probably wondering where you were."

"Really?! Little Yusuke is the Godaime?!" Shizune said, astounded. "But she's like, what—_fourteen_?!"

Tsunade's eyes widened and her mouth barely agape. _Godaime? Sarutobi-sensei had that much confidence in that whelp? _"Shizune, we're leaving," Tsunade stood and moved to walk out of the casino.

"What?" Shizune was startled, but she quickly followed. "Wait for me, Tsunade-sama!"

"Hn?" Tsunade frowned when Naruto stepped in front of her. "What do you want, gaki?"

Blue eyes glared back at her determinedly. "I can't let you leave." Tsunade snorted, but he interrupted before she started. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not doing this for the Ero-sennin, or for the Hokage, I'm doing it for my sensei and my friend who were both attacked by Uchiha Itachi."

"Move out of my way, gaki. I have no interest in helping Konoha and when you see Jiraiya, tell him I have no interest in helping Orochimaru either. No doubt that's why he came to see me." Naruto remained rooted to the ground. "Listen gaki—"

"No, you listen!" snapped Naruto. "My sensei and teammate are both in a coma! I will not let you go until you help me heal them! Ero-sennin said you were the best when it came to healing! Even Yusuke nee-chan said so!"

Tsunade's eye twitched before she placed a foot over a chair challengingly, resting her arm on her knee while holding a fist up. "You want a fight boy?"

"Only if it will keep you here!" he growled.

"I won't help you, even _if_ you can keep me here," responded Tsunade smugly.

"Are you scared?" Naruto taunted.

An irritated twitch of an eyebrow notified Shizune, this was not going to be pretty. _This boy has a death wish..._

"Scared? Me?" Tsunade grabbed Naruto by the collar and hauled him out of the casino. "You want to make a bet with that attitude of yours?"

"If I win, you have to come back to Konoha with us and heal Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke." He slapped her hand away from his shirt and landed on the ground.

The woman snorted. "As if you can even make me use even more then three fingers."

Naruto grinned. "Is that a compliment, Tsunade baa-chan? Ero-sennin said even one finger from you is hazardous."

"Don't mock me kid." a gold chain dangled from her fingers as a grin played across her lips. "But then again, I have leverage. This little trinket is quite important to you isn't it?" Naruto froze. "Hidden under the layers of that hideous orange outfit and even protectively covered with a scarf. Quite an interesting design, won't you say?"

The pendent gleamed in the sunlight.

**Flashback**

"_Here."_

_Naruto stared down at the golden chain and the unique design of the pendant that Yusuke was holding up from where she sat up in her hospital bed._

"_What, are you giving it to me?" Naruto asked._

"_Yeah, dummy, of course. But I expect it back. It was given to me by a friend I helped awhile back; he said it brings luck to the wearer, so I want you to wear this when you're out looking for Tsunade." Yusuke said, as Naruto took the golden chain delicately and clasping it around his neck._

"_Thanks."_

"_By the way, when you do find Tsunade, you have to make a bet with her, or else no dice."_

"_Dice?"_

"_It means 'no deal'. Don't let your guard down either; I hear Orochimaru is out looking for her, too."_

_Naruto saw the sad, tired, desperate look in Yusuke's eyes, and going on with his instincts, he bent down and hugged the young Hokage._

"_You know what? Next to old man Hokage, you're always looking out for everyone's wellbeing…Thank you, Yusuke nee-chan."_

_He felt Yusuke hug him back before pulling away and smiling at him. "Good luck to you." _

**End Flashback **

Naruto clenched his fists at his sides. "Give that back."

A morbid grin stretched across Tsunade's face. "If you lose, I'll take this little trinket and pawn it for gambling funds."

Naruto saw red. "Give it back!" he roared as he darted forward with a sloppy punch. The sannin dodged with ease as she stored the pendent in her breast-space.

"And the match begins." Genkai drawled out dully.

"Give it back!" Naruto roared as he swept a leg under Tsunade.

The woman jumped, placing two fingers atop his head before flipping over and landed behind him. With the same two fingers she swiftly snapped it down at the back of Naruto's neck. The boy flew three meters before coming to a tumbling crash across the street. Vendors and patrons watched in horror and fascination at the brief conflict. The sannin grinned smugly at the still form of Naruto, but frowned when he started coughing and crawling to his knees. His hand rubbed irritably at the spot where Tsunade attacked him.

The woman frowned. _That should've knocked him unconscious. The only other person I know who can withstand something like that is Yusu, but she's a master at chakra control. Maybe the Kyuubi made his nerves stronger... 50 pounds this time._

Without waiting, Tsunade strolled up to the boy with two curled fingers and caught Naruto by the chin in an uppercut. She then slashed down at his neck again, forming a crater on the ground as he landed. However, he didn't stay down as he swung his legs and jumped up again. This time, it didn't even seem like he was injured.

_What is he made of?_

"Give me back Yusuke nee-chan's pendent!" Naruto launched himself at her again.

Tsunade danced out of his reach as he opened his palms and thrust forward. "Ah, so this was given to you by Yusu-chan, eh?" Tsunade provoked.

Using his momentum, he flipped himself onto his hands and proceeded with a series of rapid kicks at the sannin while he used his hands to propel him towards her. The woman shifted her weight left to right and right to left backwards as she dodged each kick, she caught the heel of his foot with three fingers. With a forceful yank she spun Naruto into the air. The boy twisted his body to right himself before curling into a fetal position and somersaulted to the ground.

His feet barely touched the ground before he propelled himself again and delivered a roundhouse kick to Tsunade. The woman caught him from the underside of his knee and pressured her thumb at the crevice of the joint. Naruto twisted his body quickly and plunged his hand in between her chest. The woman's eyes widened at his bold action and drop-kicked him. He landed at the feet of Genkai, and in his hand grasped a pendent. Shizune's eyes widened.

"Perverted little brat," growled Tsunade with a faint blush over her face as she crossed her arms over her chest. No one, since Jiraiya, had dared to pull that move on her.

"Damn it," grumbled Naruto as he crawled to his feet. He looked down at his hand and noticed it wasn't Yusuke's pendant he grabbed. "Damn it, why did I grab this piece of crap?"

"CRAP?" Shizune shrieked. "That pendent is the heirloom from the first hokage! Give that back to Tsunade-sama before it curses you!"

Naruto glanced at the pendent before looping the necklace over his head. "Fat chance. She gives back Yusuke nee-chan's pendent then I'll give her, her grandfather's pendent." He stuffed the pendent in his shirt before he pushed himself from the ground.

"Genkai-sama! Do something!" Shizune panicked, but the woman only continued to stand and watch from the sides.

"Don't worry, they're just using pure taijutsu, I sense neither of them preparing for any ninjutsu or genjutsu. Nothing too lasting would come out of it..." she paused for a thought. "Then again Tsunade always did have that brute strength of hers..."

"Genkai-sama!" protested Shizune.

Naruto slipped into a different stance; leaning heavily on his other leg. The leg Tsunade placed pressure on gave way. Instead of having his palms out, he curled up his fists and held them loosely in front of him. It seemed awfully sloppy compared to the style Yusuke used in the Dark Tournament; his feet had no firm grasp on the ground.

Tsunade frown, but watched cautiously as Naruto stumble forward, favoring his left foot, in an attack. She toyed with the thought of knocking his head a few more times, but it quickly disappeared when one of his punches missed and landed only inches from her feet, ripping the ground from below her. She quickly jumped before the ground swallowed her. Their captivated audience screamed as the crack branched off and reached elsewhere. Within seconds, the streets were empty with the exception of Genkai and Shizune as the remaining audience.

Naruto breathed heavily, drips of sweat slipped from his chin. _Shit, I shouldn't have done that. What made me think this was finished? She would've beaten me to a pulp by now if it weren't for the Kyuubi._ He glanced briefly at his shaking hands and clasped them together tightly. The rush of chakra to his hands were slowly receding.

Tsunade noticed his moment of weakness and quickly darted forward. She aimed for his protector. Naruto noticed in the last second before thrusting his hands at her in an attempt to lessen the blow. He caught her by the stomach while her finger tips smashed into his forehead protector. Naruto immediately went airborne once again, while Tsunade dropped to a knee with the air knocked out of her.

"He managed to hit her," gapped Shizune.

Genkai paused. "Shizune-chan, time to move."

"Huh? Why?"

The old woman grabbed her hand and yanked her away as a snake emerged from the ground, it burrowed back to the ground shortly afterwards. "That's why," she said before spinning around. "Tsunade, Naruto! Match postponed! We have a guest!" she announced to the two.

"Genkai-sensei," growled the pale skinned sannin as he revealed his presence atop the casino roof with Kabuto at his side. "Fraternizing with the enemy? I thought you kept with your solitude."

Genkai raised a finger patronizingly. "Yes, Dear-stupid-student-of-my-deceased-teammate, I am a woman of my word!" she tutted. "But my words are filled with loopholes! And fine print in your case!" She pulled out a sealed scroll from within her tunic robe.

Tsunade turned to Orochimaru with disbelief. "You _signed_ a contract with the woman?" she rested a hand to her head. "And here I thought you were smarter than Jiraiya."

"You don't know how valuable foresight is!" Orochimaru said with a smirk.

"Nor does he know that I'm giving him false information." Genkai muttered.

Naruto held his head as he peeled himself off the side of the wall. He staggered drunkenly to his feet before swaggering sloppily over to the group. Just as everyone was captivated by Genkai mocking Orochimaru's existence, he abruptly crashed into Shizune. He recoiled, staggering back a few steps. The woman was surprised that he got near her without her noticing.

"Be careful, Naruto-kun..." she trailed off when she turned to face the boy.

"Ow…Man, that really hurt!" he said, rubbing his shoulders.

"I didn't come here so you can mock me!" snapped Orochimaru furiously.

Kabuto frowned, "Orochimaru-sama. You shouldn't get angry. It's not good for your current condition."

"Tsunade, I'll ask you again. Heal my arms and I'll give you anything you desire! Whether it's the revival of your brother and your lover or immortality, I can give you anything!" Shizune looked worriedly over to Tsunade as Orochimaru offered. The blond woman showed no response, but it's Genkai's twitch that made her curious.

"Immortality isn't all that cracked up to be," came a voice all too familiar to Naruto as he and everyone else looked up to another rooftop to see Yusuke, standing defiantly across from Orochimaru.

Naruto noticed that Yusuke's Hokage robe was different, it actually fit her! It had been tailored to her fitting, no longer making her look childish, but it did show just how thin her frame really was.

"Yusuke nee-chan!" Naruto called out.

"Tsunade-sama, something's different about Yusu-chan." Shizune whispered to the blonde woman.

"I know, she's gotten stronger." Tsunade said.

"Ah, the young Spirit Detective, or should I say, the young Godaime of Konoha?" Orochimaru said with a sick twisted grin.

"Y'know, I've been hearing a lot of stuff about you being close to finding immortality, but to be honest, I think that's just a load of crap." Yusuke said with a cocky air about her.

"Yusu, don't bother trying to change his mind. Some people need to experience immortality in order to find how immortals can hurt. However," Genkai looked up at Orochimaru. "Orochimaru, I suggest you to stop researching on the art of immortality."

"Why?" He grinned. "Am I going to succeed?"

"I don't need to look into the future, I can just sense when things will go bad. I'm just giving you a warning."

The snake man laughed. "And why in particular is this warning free?"

A twitch at the corner of Genkai's lip made Shizune feel uneasy as she unconsciously took a step back. "Because, I don't want to have a guilty conscience when someone close to you kills you."

"Kill me?" this time his laughter was loud and out to mock the older woman. "Old hag! No one can't touch me even if they tried! Especially a child who has never seen the true cruelties of mankind!"

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto shouted, but the man didn't realize the danger until it was too late.

Yusuke shot a warning shot of her Spirit Gun past Orochimaru's head, missing him by an inch as the heat of the bullet singed his hair.

"That kid just keeps pulling out the surprises." Shizune said with awe.

Yusuke ran forward, channeling her reiki into her fists as she aimed a punch at Orochimaru's face. Kabuto pushed his master aside, taking the hit straight to the face and went flying, landing on the ground, unconscious.

"What a total wimp! He got knocked out after one hit!" Naruto said.

Genkai "hmphed" as she crossed her arms. "Stop playing around, Yusu, you're carelessly wasting all of our time." she said.

"Don't worry, I'll make this quick." Yusuke said as she turned to face Orochimaru.

"You think I would give up just because you knocked out my front man?" Orochimaru hissed as he glared up at Yusuke.

"Are you that obsessed with immortality?" Yusuke asked, "Why do you people always search for it? There's no gain!"

Orochimaru opened his mouth and shot out a sword. "Yusuke nee-chan, watch out!" cried Naruto, but the warning was too late and the sword plunged into Yusuke's left forearm. The young Hokage yelped in pain as she tore the sword out. The girl had left her guard down when she became emotional and ranted. Orochimaru quickly jumped to his feet with Kabuto closely behind him.

"Yusuke nee-chan!" Naruto quickly jumped up and caught Yusuke in his arms before darting away from Orochimaru.

"Naruto!" growled the young Hokage as she pushed herself away from Naruto. "Don't try to stop me, take me back to that shit head! Stab my arm, will he? He has some guts! I'm gonna kick his ass so hard his ancestors will scream!"

"Yusuke nee-chan!" whined the Naruto helplessly as Yusuke was pushing at Naruto to let her go. "But you're almost at your limit! You're going to— ACK!" Yusuke knocked her elbow against Naruto's chin and leapt off.

"DIE SPIRIT DETECTIVE!" Orochimaru took the chance and charged.

The young Hokage quickly raised a hand to fire her Spirit Gun but felt a sharp jolt go up her arm. "Damn! That sword must've been laced with something."

The sword neared Yusuke, but at the last second, Tsunade stepped in and intercepted the attack. She caught the sword yanking it out of his mouth before flipping it over and placed it against his neck. "Stop this pointless fighting. I don't want anything from you and I don't want to help Konoha either. I despise both of you with almost the same fury." She scowled.

"Liar," growled Orochimaru as he stood from the ground. "Yusuke is the fifth Hokage. Helping her means you're helping Konoha!"

Tsunade kicked him towards the casino, but Kabuto, who finally woke up, quickly caught Orochimaru. She rested the sword on her shoulder. "Hmph, who wants to help that lousy village? I'm just doing this because I owe her." She tilted her head back, not turning her attention from the snake sannin, but enough that Yusuke knew she's talking to her. "Yusu, that would pay off at least a fourth of the debt to Genkai, don't you agree?"

"A fifth," responded Genkai almost immediately. "You're not expensive to hire!"

Orochimaru stopped his attack, the snake, from before reemerged and dashed towards the duo in an attack.

"WAI! BIG SNAKE!" Yusuke shouted as she began to change direction, but the snake was faster.

Just as it was about to devour her, the ground cracked opened and had the snake fall deep into its darkness. Yusuke hovered, studying the crack. She traced it back to Naruto; he had his fist planted firmly on the ground. The boy was slightly dazed. Shizune was found next to the boy with her hands to his shoulders; she must've healed him during Orochimaru's beating.

"Naruto?" Yusuke breathed.

"So that's your answer?" snarled Orochimaru as he glared at Tsunade. "Kabuto?"

"Orochimaru-sama, Jiraiya and more are coming. They're no more than fifteen minutes away."

"We're not retreating yet!" snapped the man.

"But, Orochimaru-sama!" the other protested.

"You should really listen to that boy," Genkai said.

"You're a liar and a cheat, Genkai-sensei," Orochimaru declared as Kabuto grabbed his master. "Orochimaru-sama, we weren't counting on Yusuke showing up. We really need to regroup." His eyes were determined and there was a hint of amusement in his voice. In that tone, told the man many things.

Frowning, Orochimaru glanced back to the group; specifically Tsunade. "You'll regret this Tsunade," he warned before he reluctantly left with his servant. He didn't even bother to retrieve his sword.

Tsunade waited until she no longer felt their presence and turned back to the Hokage. "Yusuke, what are you really here for…?" she trailed off when Yusuke dropped tiredly to the ground and leaned back on her hands.

Naruto crawled to his feet and raced over to the three. "Hey! Is Yusuke nee-chan all right?"

"I'm fine, Naruto!" Yusuke reassured, smiling up at the blonde as he dropped to his knees next to her.

"But your arm, it was stabbed by a sword." Naruto said.

"I'm _fine_, all right?" Yusuke insisted, thrusting her wounded arm forward, the sleeves of her robe stained with blood, but there was no wound.

"Ah, the Spirit Wave." Tsunade said, as she looked over at Genkai. "So you've finally passed on your legacy, eh, Genkai-sensei?"

"Of course I did." Genkai snorted.

"Tsunade-san," Yusuke said, gaining the attention of the sannin. "Please, come back with us to Konoha."

"I've already—" Tsunade cut off her words as she saw Yusuke doing the one thing she thought she'd never see the girl do.

Yusuke was on her hands and knees before her, begging the blonde woman. "Please, two people are lying in a hospital bed in a coma because of Itachi! And I can't bring them out of it with the Spirit Wave! And a friend of mine—he's been badly injured! His injuries are so bad that his dream to become a ninja can't come true! I'm not as strong as everyone thinks I am! I'm just a kid! _Please_, Tsunade! _Please_ come back to Konoha, take the title as Hokage because I know I can't take care of the village as I am!"

Shizune was on the verge of tears as Naruto and Genkai stood to the side in silence. All eyes were on Tsunade, who was looking down at the pathetic sight of Yusuke, begging for her reply.

"She's begging you." Genkai said.

Tsunade sighed as she knelt down on one knee before Yusuke, putting her hands on the girl's shoulders. A soft smile on her red lips.

"If you're gonna make such a fuss about it, I'll go back with you." Tsunade said.

Naruto sighed before pocketing his hands. "There's still ten minutes left." He smiled. "Would you like to finish our match?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "You know you could have waited until they're here and win by default."

"That would be cheating," responded the boy. "I don't want you to go back on your word because of it. Besides, I want to be able to say that I managed to save my teammates with my own power, even if I can't heal them myself."

"Dummy, she's already agreed to coming back!" Yusuke bit out irritably.

A twitch teased the corner of Tsunade's lip. "Save them with your own power, huh?" a smirk stretched across her face. "Too noble and not exactly a ninja's style... but I like it." She chuckled and reached in her breast space to get something. "We'll have our rematch another time. I'll agree to healing your friends but—" She pulled out the pendant that Yusuke gave Naruto. "I'll keep this until our rematch. I'll trust you to do the same for mine?"

"But, Tsunade-sama—!" Shizune began her protest, but didn't get far as Naruto interrupted.

"Deal," the blond agreed and clasped onto the pendent through his shirt.

"Tsunade-sama, you can't be serious, that thing is—" she stopped when she saw the determination the two had. She gave a dejected sigh, as she knew nothing would change their minds.

"You moron!" Yusuke yelled, grabbing Naruto's jacket by the collar and shaking him. "I told you to hold onto that! I told you to keep it safe! That was a precious gift given to me by a friend from Reikai!"

"I—I'm sorry! She just took it!" Naruto said helplessly. "You don't have to worry about any curse, Shizune-san," Naruto grinned, "The only way I'm going to die is if Tsunade baa-chan kills me herself."

"Baa-chan?" gapped Shizune.

"Cheeky brat," muttered Tsunade, but a fond smile graced her lips.

"Of course, I won't let her kill me that easily! I still have to become the next Hokage! Me, Uzumaki Naruto! And I'm gonna be way stronger than Yusuke nee-chan!" Tsunade froze. Naruto chuckled lightly and scratched the back of his head.

"Hey, Naruto," mutter Tsunade. "Since you're not old enough for sake, want to go for tea?"

Shizune watched Tsunade worriedly for a moment, but seeing her mentor was able to recover, she watched the two before turning her attention to Yusuke who was sitting at the table with Genkai, quietly chuckling to herself. Just as she was about to follow the two a frown marred her face.

"Genkai-san, you said Jiraiya-sama wouldn't be here for a few hours." Shizune began.

"Yeah, what about it?" Genkai asked blandly.

"That was early this morning, so where is he now?"

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto shouted as he jumped from his seat at the restaurant and jogged over to his mentor. "Tsunade baa-chan agreed to heal Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke! Isn't that great? We ran into Orochimaru, but Yusuke nee-chan drove him away! And you know what? You know what?"

Jiraiya quickly clamped a hand over Naruto's mouth and turned to glare at Tsunade. "What did you give him?"

Tsunade turned away with a huff. "Nothing harmful." Naruto continued to talk despite being muffled by Jiraiya's hand. "He can use the immunity training, it's not like it'll last long in his system anyway."

Naruto paused when he noticed something out of place. Behind his mentor was Gai waiting patiently, but neither his teammates were in sight. Grasping onto his mentor's hand he yanked it away and barraged him with a series of questions. "Neh, Ero-sennin! Where is Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke?"

Gai raised his hands trying to calm the boy down. "They're still in the hospital."

"Tsunade, Naruto is not a test subject. Refrain from using your new serums on him please?" Genkai said warningly as she raised a finger as a warning. "Especially, if it's an annoying one! You can use him for other lethal stuff."

Gai stared at her in bewilderment. "Genkai-sama? What are you doing here?"

"Like it's any of your business, I thought Yusu charged you to watch over Kakashi and Sasuke?" Genkai grunted.

"It's about damn time, Jiraiya-baka!" Yusuke said from her seat at the table, an irate look on her face. "Jeez, you were supposed to be here before me!"

"And you were supposed to remain in Konoha, looking out for your village!" Jiraiya snapped, his eye twitching and a vein pulsing in his neck.

"You were taking too long, so I came out here and convinced Tsunade to come back with us! Dummy!"

"Yusuke, head back to the village first." Genkai said.

"What? Why?" Yusuke asked.

"Because you're Hokage, it's your job."

Yusuke gave a huff.

* * *

**AN: Review/comment!**

**Ciao for now!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Two weeks…Two weeks since the return of the renowned medic Tsunade, and _still_ Yusuke was trapped in this prison called the Hokage Tower, where she was forced to continue to run the village. And it didn't help much that the council had appointed a team of Anbu to keep her in her office, keeping an eye on her, making sure she was doing her job and attending her meetings. Not off gallivanting and neglecting her duties.

She was hating it.

She cursed Tsunade's name for not taking the position as Hokage immediately, avoiding her requests to speak with her. Yusuke slammed her fists down on her desk in frustration, snapping the brush she was using to sign the many documents that had piled up during the days she was absent.

"Hokage-dono, is anything the matter?" asked the bear Anbu.

Yusuke threw herself onto the masked man, catching him off guard as she looked up at him with comical tears streaming down her face. "Why won't Tsunade come here to talk to me? Did she decide to go against her word to be Hokage? Was it something I did?"

The bear Anbu sweat-dropped as he pried the young Hokage off of him and sat her back in her chair. Kneeling before her, the bear Anbu moved his mask to the side of his head, revealing his face (though Yusuke already knew who he was) and took Yusuke's small hands into his larger gloved ones. Smiling softly up at her, his grey eyes showing how truly sorry he felt.

"Listen, Yusu-chan, you have to realize that the village is in a delicate state right now. All the countries have already acknowledged and recognized you as this countries new leader. If you let someone else take your place now, it'll create confusion among the other leaders and among your village."

Yusuke puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

"All I'm saying is; you have to be strong for your village and wait a little bit longer. Also, you haven't heard the praises everyone has been giving you within the village. We all think you're doing a great job keeping the citizens safe, you even kept those of us in Anbu safe. There hasn't been one mission where any of us doubted you expecting us back. Hell, even some of the other countries are saying a few good words about you!"

"Mitsukuni nii-san…" Yusuke trailed off, a light smile spreading across her face, happy for once to hear that she was praised as Hokage.

"You're still very young, Yusu-chan, but you're incredibly strong-willed (and a bit of a hot-head) and you give everyone strength. You're a good kid, and an even better Hokage, and a really cute one, too!"

Yusuke couldn't help but giggle at that last comment, making the bear Anbu, her cousin of blood relation, Mitsukuni, smile brightly.

"Are you just saying all this so I'd suffer a little bit longer?" Yusuke asked.

"Partly," Mitsukuni said, "But I really mean it, Yusu-chan, you really are a good leader when it comes to your people."

Mitsukuni then stood back up, sliding his mask back over his face. Yusuke smiled up at him, knowing that he was doing the same even if she couldn't see it.

"Arigato, Mitsukuni nii-san."

"I kind of pity you, though. All that paperwork and not being aloud to go out and have fun like a normal kid. I'm just glad you haven't screwed anything up like you usually do." Mitsukuni teased.

Yusuke smiled innocently up at Mitsukuni, as she stood up and opened her window to let in some fresh air and turned back to the bear Anbu. "Get out." she said, and before the Anbu knew it, Yusuke had pushed him out of her office window.

She saw two blurs of Anbu, catching their teammate before hitting the ground. The three Anbus looked up to see Yusuke looking down at them with a not-so amused expression.

"Don't give me a long speech about how I'm praised and then tease me! _Baaaka_!" she yelled and then shut her window and drew the curtains close.

The three Anbus all sweat-dropped.

"She pushed you out the window too, huh?" said Susumu, walking up to the three in his black shinobi spy uniform.

"She's just ticked that Tsunade-sama is refusing to see her." Mitsukuni sighed.

"Hmm, I thought it was because of the tight security of keeping her in her office?" Susumu said. "Wouldn't blame her though, she hasn't been home for days. Kaa-san is getting worried."

* * *

"Won't you go see her at least?" Jiraiya asked, sitting next to Tsunade at a bar.

"I've already healed Kakashi and that Uchiha kid." Tsunade said.

"But that's what Naruto wanted; you still haven't done what Yusuke wanted." Jiraiya pointed out. "I went to go see her yesterday, she's a real mess. She hasn't been home once since we got back, the council is practically working her to death. They've even assigned an Anbu team to keep a watch on her every move."

Tsunade stayed quiet, thinking back to when Yusuke begged on her hands and knees, pleading her to come back to the village, heal Naruto's teammates, and…

She closed her eyes, trying to push that memory aside.

"I'll do it."

* * *

"Huh?"

"I said I'll do it."

"Oh, Tsunade-sama, do you really mean to go through with it?" Shizune asked from where she stood off to the side of the office as Tsunade stood before Yusuke.

"It took you long enough." Yusuke drawled, stamping the Hokage seal on a document before standing up from her seat and throwing the Hokage cap to Tsunade. "You're Hokage now."

"Huh? Just like that? Don't the elders have to…?" Shizune trailed off, seeing that Tsunade was smiling down at Yusuke.

Tsunade's experienced eyes could see the very dark rings under Yusuke's eyes and the slight tremors shaking her small body in an attempt to stay awake…Tsunade was more than willing to take the job to let this child before her rest and grow.

"I'll take care of your village." Tsunade said.

Yusuke smiled weakly. "Nice," she breathed before collapsing to the floor from over-exhaustion.

Shizune rushed to the girl's side behind the desk, checking her vitals and temperature before peering over the desk at Tsunade. "She's fine, just real tired. Should I take her to the hospital, Tsunade-sama?"

_"She hasn't been home once since we got back, the council is practically working her to death."_

"No, take her home." Tsunade said, though her order wasn't directed to Shizune, but to the Anbu standing behind her.

The bear Anbu walked behind the desk and gently picked up the sleeping girl, hauling her onto his back and disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"She's a pretty amazing kid, eh, Tsunade-sama? Taking care of an entire village at her age is unheard of, and yet she did a decent job." Shizune said.

Tsunade sighed as she walked around the desk, looking down at the last document Yusuke signed, reading the first line: _Request to send out an Anbu squad to pursue Orochimaru and the Sound-nins…_ Tsunade's eyes skimmed down the page and read: _Request denied._ In Yusuke's hand writing.

"She may not know it, but she tends to put the well-being of her village before her." Tsunade said, picking up the paper and setting it on top of a stack of other signed documents, noticing that many of them were requests to pursue the Sound village ninjas, and all were denied.

_She denied every one of these requests to find Orochimaru…Yusu; you're thinking two steps ahead of the game, aren't you?_ Tsunade thought as she shuffled through every request that was denied. _Amazing…Jiraiya wasn't kidding when he said that the elders were really pushing Yusu to do her job. And she actually did it...! To deny something as important as this, she must've known the high risks without further investigation; the girl truly is a genius when it counts. Especially when the percent rate of failure and death is extremely high. Yusu, you've done your homework._

* * *

"…So…she just collapsed?" came a gruff voice.

"That's what Mitsukuni-san said." came a smooth, velvety voice.

"Like I said before: this village is full of fools who don't know their own limit." came a monotonous drawl. "And the biggest one is laying right in front of us."

"Hey, you're awake!" Kuwabara said, sitting at Yusuke's left side, grinning down at his teammate.

Yusuke looked up at her teammates with a groggy look, Kuwabara at her left, Kurama at her right, and Hiei sitting cross-legged at the foot of her bed.

"Your face isn't a pleasant thing to see first thing in the morning." Yusuke said, her voice gravely.

"What you say, punk?!" Kuwabara started, pounding his fists against Yusuke who pulled the covers over her head and turned on her side towards Kurama.

"I'm only telling ya the truth, man." Yusuke said, the blanket muffling her voice.

"Anyways, Yusu-chan, it's good to see you're finally awake." Kurama said. Yusuke pushed the covers down enough for her head to show to see Kurama smiling warmly at her. "You've been asleep ever since yesterday."

"I have?" Yusuke quickly sat up, her hair disheveled and mussed and was no longer in her Hokage robes but a pair of light blue pajamas. "Did Tsunade keep her promise?! Is she still in the village?!"

"Relax, the woman's still here." Hiei said.

"She'll be making an announcement to the village around noon tomorrow, so you'll have plenty of time to go see her." Kurama said.

"Hey, Urameshi, is it true that you really gave the Hokage title to Tsunade-sama?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yeah. The pressure got to me, y'know? I thought nothing was harder than being a Spirit Detective, but being Hokage really opened my eyes!" Yusuke said, laughing a little as she scratched the back of her head. "I'm just glad that Tsunade's here to take that crap job."

"At least she can't abuse her power on us again." Kuwabara said.

"Oh yeah…how was guard duty? I never got around to asking you guys that." Yusuke said, smirking at her two friends.

"It was fine." Kurama said.

"Are you kidding me? It was the worst week of my life!" Kuwabara said.

"Must have given some hint to not piss Yusu off when she has the power to make you miserable." Hiei said.

"Shut it!" Kuwabara snapped.

"Take it outside, you two so I can get some more shut-eye." Yusuke yawned.

"You're going to sleep some more?" Kurama asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"It's practically all she does." Hiei retorted, standing and leaving the room. Kuwabara followed after Hiei, telling Yusuke his sister wished her well and then left. Kurama was left, still sitting beside his teammate.

"Aren't you going?" Yusuke asked as she lied back down on her bed, pulling the covers up to her chin.

"You know, Yusu-chan, you gave us all quite a scare when we heard that you collapsed in the office. Even Hiei was worried about you." Kurama said.

"Sorry." Yusuke said.

"It's all right, since we know you'll be okay." silence fell over the two before Kurama spoke again. "Naruto's been complaining a lot about not getting challenging missions."

"Big deal, he's not my problem anymore…" Yusuke said, her voice soft, telling Kurama that she was close to falling asleep.

"Get some more sleep, Yusu, I'll keep you posted should you miss anything important." Kurama said as he stood and quietly left the room, sliding the door closed behind him.

* * *

"Ne-ne, Yusuke nee-chan, is it true that Tsunade baa-chan is Hokage now?" Naruto asked, as he and his teammates, along with Team Gai sat in Ichiraku. Naruto was sitting next to Yusuke with a bowl of ramen in front of him.

"If she isn't then both Kotetsu and Izumou would be—" Yusuke was cut off when the very two people she was talking about appeared behind the seven.

"Hoka—I mean, Yusuke-san, Tsunade-sama wishes to see you." Izumou said.

"No." Yusuke simply said, her back still to them.

"But—she said it was urgent." Izumou said.

Yusuke whipped around in her seat with a perturbed look on her face. "It took me two freakin' weeks to get her to see me! This is pay back for makin' me wait so damn long!"

Everyone sweat-dropped.

Sakura, sitting next to Naruto spoke up, "Yusuke-san, you should go see her. If it's really something urgent—"

"Urgent my ass! She probably can't handle the mountains of paperwork that I had to endure through." Yusuke ground out.

"It's probably about the announcement today." Neji said.

"Or a secret mission." Naruto said excitedly.

"A mission? About what? Normally the toddler gives me my missions." Yusuke said.

"I thought we agreed that you'd stop calling me that, _Yusu-chan_?" Koenma said, walking up behind the two jounins.

"So I'm guessing you've finally grown out of your diapers, huh?" Yusuke said.

"Very funny." Koenma grumbled, "Actually, I'm here to speak with the Hokage, and since you're no longer Hokage, I've made it my business to meet with Tsunade."

"Then go." Yusuke said, turning back around in her seat, only to have Koenma reach out and grab her by the ear, yanking forcefully to make the girl stagger behind him, leveling her head in an awkward position as she cursed at the Prince of Spirit World. Both Kotetsu and Izumou followed with pleased grins on their faces.

"About time someone was able to drag Yusu-chan's butt to the office." Tenten said with a tittering laugh as the six remaining genins turned back around in their seats.

"Yusuke-san seems much happier now that she's no longer Hokage." Sakura said.

"It's a shame though…" Lee sighed.

"How come?" Sakura asked.

"Yusu-chan was actually doing an excellent job, giving missions to shinobis who could handle it. So far, the worse injury received during a mission was a broken ankle. She was being really careful about who she chose for every mission, it's a shame, she was a great leader." Lee said.

Sakura was a little surprised as she and her teammates were all very quiet. She thought back to the first time Yusuke, as Hokage, had assigned her, Naruto and Sasuke on a mission together. Back then, she didn't realize…

**Flashback **

"_Yatta! Finally a mission!" Naruto cheered._

"_It'll be a simple escort and bodyguard mission, but be on your guard." Yusuke said from behind her desk, gaining the attention of all three genins. "Word has it that there have been some Rain-nins lurking around the area, hired by the opposing clan. So be careful, okay?"_

"_Don't have to worry about us, Yusuke nee-chan! I'll carry this mission out!" Naruto said with a broad grin, marching out of the door._

"_Moron! Take your missions more seriously!" Yusuke yelled, but Naruto was already out the door._

_Sasuke merely stared at Yusuke for a minute before turning and following after Naruto. Sakura turned to leave, but stopped shortly to look back at Yusuke to see an alert girl with worried eyes. _

**End Flashback **

"I guess she really did worry." Sakura said softly.

"You say something, Sakura?" asked Tenten.

"Oh, no! Just thinking!" Sakura said with a nervous laugh.

"We should go, the assembly should start soon." Neji said. He and his team all stood up and left, saying their farewells to Team Kakashi.

* * *

The entire village was gathered before the Hokage Tower where Tsunade stood at the top, looking down at everyone. Shizune and Yusuke were standing a few steps behind her. The citizens and the shinobis of Konoha were all looking up as Tsunade held up the Hokage cap and announced:

"I am the Rokudaime!"

_Rokudaime?_ Yusuke, Shizune, and many other shinobi who took part in the meetings and arrangements for the exchange of titles were all wondering. Shizune gave a rather fearful look over at Yusuke who seemed to be steaming from the ears as the girl cracked her knuckles.

_Oh no…_ Shizune thought as she sweat-dropped.

* * *

**AN: Review/comment this chapter please!  
**

**Ciao for now!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Shouldn't you be busy with something else aside from invading my space again?" Sasuke asked, the tone of annoyance in his voice yet he took no action to run Yusuke out of his apartment.

"Just fulfilling a promise I made. Ta-da!" Yusuke said, setting down the earthen pot on the hot pad full of boiling stew. "Nabe, just like you wanted!"

Sasuke gulped, his mouth watering at the sight and smell before he ultimately parked himself at the table and picked up his chopsticks.

"Y'know…nabe tastes better with a large group of close friends. I wonder if we should invite some people over?" Yusuke said as she scooped a serving of rice into a bowl before handing it to Sasuke.

"Don't take liberty over something so trivial." Sasuke said, taking the bowl.

"Hmm, I guess it would be a pain to clean up after more than two people." Yusuke said, "Never mind, just eat your fill."

"Shouldn't you be cooking for your boyfriend instead?"

"Boyfriend?" Yusuke paused, thinking of who he could possibly be talking about before she remembered the kiss Neji took from her and her face turned red. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

* * *

Almost a month has past by since Tsunade announced herself as the Rokudaime, and so far, she was _**hating**_ the job.

Tsunade sat behind the Hokage desk, pretending to be looking over the documents while in actuality she was downing her umpteenth cup of sake. Yusuke was casually sitting in one of the chairs with her teammates, looking over the objective of their new mission.

With a frustrated groan, Tsunade dropped her head into her arms, sick and tired of going through missions report, documents, meetings, and so on. Lifting her head a bit, she looked miserably over at Yusuke whom she wished was still Hokage.

"Yusu-chaaaan! How did you endure such torture?!" Tsunade whined.

"Easy, I made everyone else around me equally miserable." Yusuke said, while both Kurama and Kuwabara both sighed at the memory of that one horrible week they were put on guard duty at the gates.

"Hey, what's the deal with this new mission from Koenma anyway? It makes no sense." Kuwabara said, shuffling through the papers.

"Sudden bursts of unusual energy all coming from one area and it's far outside Leaf territory." Kurama said.

"More than likely its demon activity." said Yusuke.

"But if it's demon energy one of us would've sensed it." Kuwabara said.

"One of us, maybe, but not you." Yusuke said, making a jab at Kuwabara.

"Hey! That stung, Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled.

"I'm not the one who lost all my powers!" Yusuke yelled back, standing up and heading towards the door.

"And where are you going?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm going home, 'night you guys." Yusuke said, closing the door behind her.

"Jeez, what's got her all pissy?" Kuwabara asked after Yusuke had left the room.

"It's a mystery." Kurama said.

Tsunade smiled behind her hand as she looked out the window behind her to see Yusuke walking away from the Hokage Tower in the dark night.

* * *

Sasuke stood upon the rooftop of a building, surrounded by four sound-nins. He was out of breath, and still slightly suffering from his wounds from his last mission.

"Orochimaru-sama has taken a great interest in you, why else would he mark you with his curse mark?" said the one with the extra head poking out from behind his neck.

_This is bad, I'm outnumbered and still injured._ Sasuke thought.

"Spirit Gun!" A high blast of white energy shot past over Sasuke's right shoulder, almost hitting the only female sound-nin if she hadn't ducked down. Sasuke knew who shot that blast, and was almost reluctant to look behind him to confirm his theory.

"Damn! It's that little bitch!" Tayuya cursed as she stood up.

Yusuke jumped down from a higher building and landed right next to Sasuke with a cocky smirk on her face. "Sorry, if you hadn't moved I would've been able to blast that foul mouth right off your face."

"What are _you_ doing here?" Sasuke asked bitterly.

"I could ask you the same thing." Yusuke said.

"This is bad," Kidomaru said to his other teammates, "With the Spirit Detective here, taking Sasuke by force will be impossible."

"Agreed." said the leader, sighing at their unfortunate luck.

"Hey, you four, what are you whispering over there?" Yusuke asked impatiently. "Are we gonna fight or what?"

"Heh, sorry, Urameshi, but fighting you is like fighting a loose canon." said Kidomaru. Yusuke took one step towards them and the four sound-nins quickly dispersed.

"Oh, c'mon, I'm not that terrifying." Yusuke sighed, "I was hoping for a good fight, too. Darn."

"Go away." Sasuke said.

Yusuke silently stared at him as he just stood there, glaring back at her. For awhile, both just stood in silence.

"Are you really going to go to Orochimaru?" Yusuke asked, "Are you really that desperate? To go to someone who _supposedly_ promises you unlimited power?"

"What do you care? I've seen the way you've fought; I've seen your power. Those sound-nins ran off just by the sight of you. Every jounin gives you high praises like a true prodigy that you are." Sasuke said with much bitterness.

"You should hear what every demon says about me as Spirit Detective." she said, "Look, I'm willing to train with you, help you get stronger. I'll even ask Genkai to put you through the same training she put me through if you want."

"And how long did you train with Genkai until you knew you were stronger than all of us?"

Yusuke sighed, "I guess you are like Neji…before Genkai I had Botan and the toddler showing me the ropes of my new spiritual powers and that was just the first two months after I came back from being dead."

"You were dead?"

"Yeah, but that's a different story. Training with Genkai took six months, and believe me, I still get nightmares from those days. And then of course there was that month after with the tournament…and then we come to the here and now. A year. It took me a year to get to this point."

"What would it take to train me in half the time?"

"You serious? You wouldn't be able to sleep. You'd drop dead from exhaustion."

"Then I'll just go to Orochimaru instead since he's sending me an open invitation."

"Don't joke."

"Who's joking? You got this strong in a year training with Genkai and fighting with your team. You're like Naruto, you only get stronger when you're with other people, protecting the ones you care for. I'm the opposite. I feel like people and forming connections is holding me back. If I cut all ties nothing will hold me back."

They looked at each other in silence, and despite trying to look for a crack, Yusuke could only see the truth that Sasuke felt.

"If you leave, you can't have any regret. If you're going to cut all ties to the people you've connected with then make it a clean cut." Yusuke said.

* * *

Early the next morning, Kotetsu and Izumou were knocking on the door to the Urameshi residence. Unfortunately for them, Susumu answered the door, looking very annoyed with them and the ungodly hour they came knocking at.

"Sorry for the disturbance, Susumu-san, but the Hokage has requested for Yusuke-dono's presence." Izumou said.

Susumu stared at them both intently, his dark eyes narrowed with the promise of pain and long suffering. "Is that so?" he inquired slowly.

"H-Hai." Izumou and Kotetsu said together as they both stood as stiff as a board.

"Give me twenty seconds." Susumu said, closing the door slowly. The two jounins looked at each other and within the allotted time with no Yusuke. "She's not here." he said and then closed the door.

"Not here? Where the hell could that girl be?" Kotetsu wondered while his partner just shrugged.

* * *

Yusuke was sitting inside Sasuke's apartment. Everything was the same as before except the occupant was no longer in the village. The spirit detective had simply let Sasuke leave without a fight.

What was wrong with her?

Normally she would have beaten anyone into the dirt until they submitted but now…it felt like she had no spark left in her. She couldn't care or bring herself to think she cared.

_Did I make a mistake? Why am I caring now?_

Her head sprang up and looked to the door when she heard the lock click. Her heart pounding quickly with anticipation to see Sasuke returning but her excitement quickly dissipated when she saw at the door was Kurama.

"I had a feeling I'd find you here." he said.

Yusuke sighed and lowered her head back to her knees. "I can't help but think I screwed up big time."

"Yusu, let's discuss this later. Right now we are being summoned by both Tsunade and Koenma. So let's go see what Tsunade has to say and then report to Koenma."

"Yeah…okay."

* * *

"This isn't news to me." Yusuke said after being told Sakura's story of how she tried to stop Sasuke from leaving the village along with her teammates.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, last night I ran into Sasuke and he basically left to cut all ties after the Sound-five took off." Yusuke said

"Sound-five?" Tsunade repeated.

"Yeah, but one of them was missing. I think it was that freaky bone guy?"

"Eww, you mean that creepy guy with weapons made out of his own bones?" Kuwabara asked, shivering from the memory. "I still have the scar he left on my arm."

"Yeah, that's the guy." Yusuke said lightly.

"Didn't you try to stop Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"I sort of tried, but I also kinda convinced him to leave." Yusuke said in earnest.

"Then it's your _entire_ fault that Sasuke-kun left!" Sakura said, tears streaming down her face as she ran out of the office.

"What's her deal?" Yusuke wondered.

"Yusu, weren't you listening to a word Sakura-chan said?" Kurama asked, though he knew better than to ask such a remedial question to Yusuke.

"Well anyways, why the hell even call us in when we're gonna be heading to Reikai to meet the toddler?" Yusuke asked.

"You're right, Yusuke. Leave. I've already called in for someone else to lead a squadron to go after Sasuke anyhow." Tsunade said.

"Stupid hag! Then us being here was a waste of time!" Yusuke said, irritated.

A vein popped on Tsunade's forehead. "Stupid brat! You're also still consider a Hokage even though I'm behind the desk! You should be more involved with your village!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Yusuke said, taking the lead out of the office. Both Kuwabara and Kurama bowed respectfully to Tsunade before following their team leader.

Moments later, Shikamaru walked in, looking lazier than ever.

"I have a mission for you."

* * *

"You serious?! He left? But why?" Shikamaru asked, beyond shock after he was informed of the situation.

"Because that creep Orochimaru has him in his clutches." Tsunade said darkly.

"Hang on…Wait just second! Why would Sasuke be drawn to someone so evil?!" Shikamaru asked, still finding it hard to believe.

"It doesn't matter. It's a waste of time to speculate…Shikamaru…that's your name, right? I'm assigning you your first mission." Tsunade said.

"Bring Sasuke back. Is that all?" Shikamaru asked, already knowing the mission. _Why the hell do I have to go? Why not Yusuke-san? She's not on any mission and she and her team are more than capable of getting Sasuke back._ he thought.

"Sure…the thing is, this assignment needs immediate action, and odds are, there will be trouble." Tsunade said, "I've seen this pattern before. There's a strong chance that Orochimaru's henchmen are assisting Sasuke."

"If that's the case, this mission would call for a small, four-man team, compromised solely of jounin and chuunin." Shikamaru said.

"…I can't grant that…" Tsunade said.

"Wh…why not?!"

"You know why. Asuma, Kakashi, even your father, aside from the bare minimum needed here in the village, most of the jounin are away on other missions. Within the next half an hour, gather as many genin as you deem necessary, and leave the village."

"Well, this is a drag…still, can't just ignore it. I'm sure it'll work out one way or the other. Am I allowed to ask the Godaime and her team to assist?"

"Yusu's team is currently preparing for a mission for Reikai. You can still ask for their help but depending on their mission I doubt they'll be able to."

Shikamaru sighed. _Well, there goes my first idea for a solid team._

"But, there is one person I recommend you include." Tsunade said.

* * *

"So the surgery was a success, then?" Neji asked.

"Hai. I'll be able to join the others soon enough." Lee said.

"That's good to know, but first, take it easy until then." Yusuke said, walking up to the boys. Both boys paused at the sight of what Yusuke was wearing, a traditional kimono, though the skirt of it had been shortened and she wore tight black shorts underneath. And what was more, her short hair had been styled and tied back with hair pins. Her teammates were also present and equally as dressed up in formal attire.

"Yusu-chan, you look radiant in that kimono!" Lee said with blazing cheeks.

"She does, doesn't she?" Kurama said with a smile.

"Yeah, for once she looks like an actual girl." Kuwabara said, earning a whack to the head by said girl.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Neji asked.

"It's not all that important, just another trip into Reikai." Yusuke said, breezing past the subject of her outfit as she looked at Lee. "How about you, Lee-kun? I heard about your surgery."

"Tsunade-sama truly is the greatest medic to ever live!" Lee said enthusiastically.

"Oi! Neji!"

They all looked down the stairs to see Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba at the bottom. Neji and Kuwabara both helped Lee climb down the stairs to where the other boys were waiting.

"What is it?" Neji asked, looking at Shikamaru.

"Tsunade-sama's appointed me to form a team to go after Sasuke, who's apparently been taken by a couple of sound-nins." Shikamaru said.

"Right, then we should get going." Neji said, looking back at his teammate.

"Don't worry about me, the mission needs you more." Lee said, putting on a brave face to hide his disappointment that he'd miss out.

"Actually, I was also hoping that Yusuke-sama and her team would come with us." Shikamaru said, as all eyes went to the Reikai Tentai.

"Can't." she bluntly replied.

"What? But, Yusuke nee-chan, Sasuke needs all the help he can get!" Naruto said.

"Listen, Sasuke had a chance to take my advice and stay here, but he didn't. He left, so this attempt to bring him back kicking and screaming is none of my business." Yusuke said.

"What kind of Hokage are you for saying such trash?!" Naruto yelled in outrage.

"The kind that knows what's more important." Yusuke said, "What's one person to you compared to everyone in this country?"

"But—"

"Naruto, let it go. Tsunade-sama did say that if Yusuke-sama refused then don't push any further. Besides, she and her team also have other responsibilities that exceed this recon mission." Shikamaru said.

Naruto dropped the subject and followed them towards the gates where a battle strategy was to be planned out by Shikamaru.

Neji looked back at Yusuke for a moment longer, her words echoing in his head. _One person…compared to everyone in this country…_

Did something happen?

* * *

"Time's up. We've got so far…" Shikamaru said, looking at his team who all stood at the front gates of Konoha.

"YEAH! FOLLOW ME, MEN!" Naruto yelled. No one said a word.

"Naruto…okay, look…I'm the leader of this squad. I mean, it's a drag, but…" Shikamaru began.

"You sure you can handle it? Somehow I have my doubts." Naruto said.

"And you hating the boss is supposed to help, Naruto-kun?" Yusuke asked, walking up to the gates with her team and Lee. "Still, being ordered around by Shikamaru-kun, whose heart clearly isn't in it…that doesn't feel right either…"

"Nee-chan! Did you change your mind?" Naruto asked.

"No," Yusuke said bluntly.

"Then why bother coming if you're just gonna be useless to us?!" Naruto asked. A vein throbbed in Yusuke's temple.

"Enough." Neji said, "So, detail us some plan or strategy that shows us what the higher-ups see in you. From what I understand, we're facing a likely ambush."

"Since this is a rescue mission, we're the pursuer. That means it's easier for the enemy to anticipate us." Shikamaru said, "We need a party formation that can instantly react to an assault. If you ignore me and start acting on your own…we're all die. We'll go out single-file. First, the most important forward guard will be you, Kiba. You spent all year wandering the Land of Fire with Akamaru, so if anyone knows the terrain, it's you. Plus, given your acute sense of smell, we can track Sasuke by scent. You can even detect and disarm booby traps, where the enemy has touched them. Also, a single-file formation is vulnerable to frontal attacks, your pairing with Akamaru makes you doubly effective. And then…I, platoon leader, come second. Whatever the situation, I can respond by ordering Kiba directly from behind.

"Meanwhile I can use hand signals to communicate with the rest of you. The center, the third is you, Naruto. You've got the best initiative, so you're best placed at the heart. You can support either the front of back, as need be. You're the hinge of our backup… especially given your shadow doppelgangers. Choji, you're fourth up. You don't have speed, but you have the greatest striking power. Once Kiba, Naruto and I launch a surprise attack, you take the stage and clobber the enemy with a fatal blow. In other words, your job is in the following strike. Finally, bringing up the rear…is Neji. Rear guard is the toughest job of all. With your Byakugan, you can ensure that our squad has no blind spots.

"I also need to know our current battery. Let me see all your ninja tools now. It'll just take three minutes." Shikamaru said, as everyone showed him their gear. "Any questions?" He turned to look at Yusuke. "And what about you, Godaime? You said you're not coming with us, but you didn't say you weren't coming at all."

"Quite impressive, he came up with that plan very quickly." Kurama said.

"I may not have the best judgment, but I know when I've made a mistake. And my mistake was not stopping Sasuke last night when I saw him." Yusuke said.

"You were with him?" Naruto asked, astonished. "Then why didn't you—"

"It's not that Sasuke is my best friend. I don't even like him, really. But like us, Sasuke is a shinobi of Konohagakure. He is our comrade. And as Hokage, I will not let a comrade fall into enemy hands. That's the Konoha way. But title aside, speaking as myself, I think this recon mission is a waste of time and man power. Beyond that…I vowed to not lose lives meaninglessly." Yusuke said.

"Heh! Now you sound like an actual leader." Neji mused.

"I'll catch up to you five after we've finished matters in Reikai, if I get back in time at least." Yusuke said.

"What, you mean like exorcising demons?" Kiba asked.

"…Something like that…" Yusuke mumbled, "Don't get killed, you guys."

The five boys all nodded and left for their mission to start as Lee watched them leave. He looked over at Yusuke, seeing that she had turned away to walk back into the village with her team.

* * *

**AN: Review/comment  
**

**Ciao for now!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Hey! This place reeks of the enemy!" Kiba said.

"Stop! Everyone!" Shikamaru ordered, as he and the team all stopped on the same branch. "Look up there, carefully."

"A letter bomb…I see five more…" Neji said, "They're forming a perimeter barrier."

"Perimeter barrier?" Choji wondered.

"It's a kind of trap ninjutsu. A booby trap ninjutsu is triggered when an enemy enters a specified are. It's a sort of time lag snare." Shikamaru informed. "It's a pretty advanced ninjutsu…at least, according to a book my dad one forced on me."

"Great…then we'd better make a detour." Kiba said.

The five of them then began to move cautiously on the ground, avoiding the traps.

"Urrgh. These traps are everywhere." Kiba growled.

"Yeah…but it looks like they didn't have time to refine them." Shikamaru noted.

"Hey, Naruto, look out for the wire!" Kiba said.

_Wire again?_ Naruto thought, "I know, I saw it!" he grunted, lifting his foot to step over the trap.

"Wait, Naruto!" Shikamaru shouted. Naruto suddenly found himself stuck in an awkward position due to Shikamaru's Shadow Possession jutsu. "I got you in the nick of time…"

"Naruto! I told you to watch out!" Kiba yelled.

"Yeah…see that?" Neji pointed out, "The first wire reflects the light so it's easy to notice, but the second one is frosted green, making it hard to see. It's double jeopardy."

"For someone in haste, it's an elaborate trap. Which means…" Shikamaru trailed off.

"They're taking a break." Neji finished, "They might be wounded, or it's just a ruse." he activated his Byakugan and saw the enemy taking a rest. "Got them!"

"YEE-HAW! I'm gonna bring back Sasuke for sure!" Naruto hollered.

"Sorry, Naruto, it's my turn to show off my latest technique." Kiba said.

"What about me?" Choji asked.

"Don't be impatient," Shikamaru drawled, "We'll hit our target…just as soon as I knock out a strategy."

* * *

Yusuke stood with her team inside Koenma's office in Reikai, their attention focused on a screen as Koenma began to explain the strange happenings that have been occurring. Despite them all being dressed in formal garb, the briefing of their next mission took priority before they left on their current appointment.

"…And furthermore, if Reikai isn't able to pinpoint the exact location of these strange energy readings, we may have no choice but to call upon extra help from my father's army." Koenma said.

"The energy readings aren't from demons, right?" Yusuke began, getting a nod from Koenma, "Then maybe it's from angry spirits? When I was a ghost, I encountered quite a few of them. Maybe all we need is an exorcist?"

"We have no leads to that conclusion." Hiei said.

"But Urameshi might be right. Maybe it is from a bunch of evil spirits?" Kuwabara said.

"It's impossible for disembodied souls to emit high amounts of energy, it's just unheard of." Kurama said.

"I need you four to investigate this phenomenon, Reikai Intelligence believes that these signals are mostly coming from an urban town right here, it's called Karakura Town. I want you all to investigate this area once the meeting with the Gotei 13 is over and done with."

Yusuke said nothing more, having nothing else to say about the strange readings, her mind elsewhere as she and Kuwabara lead the way out of Koenma's office while Kurama and Hiei held back at the doors.

"I'll be right there, no need to hang back here." Koenma said.

"When are you going to let Yusu become aware that demons and lost souls are not the only things she must worry about?" Kurama asked.

"What are you talking about?" Koenma asked.

"Don't play dumb with us," Hiei said, "We're demons, of course we'd know about Hollows. What Kurama and I want to know is why should we keep Yusu in the dark about them when we are to go see your father's personal army?"

Koenma's eyes were lowered to the surface of his desk. "Yusuke is well aware of what Hollows are, but she's never encountered one before. I don't want to make the same mistake I did with her father. I could never forgive myself if Yusuke were to become entangled with Seireitei to the brink of political strain upon the shinigamis. That is why I have not yet revealed the truth to Yusuke about her father."

"What do you mean?" Kurama asked.

"Urameshi Atsuko, Yusuke's mother, was once a part of the ranks of shinigamis and after meeting her father, she broke ranks and virtually betrayed her peers to be with the man she loved." Both Hiei and Kurama's eyes widened. "Atsuko's betrayal was a mighty blow to the Gotei 13, mainly because she is the only sister of Urahara Kisuke, the former captain of the twelfth squad of the Gotei 13. It doesn't help that Urahara was also labeled a traitor and banished from Seireitei. In retaliation to the betrayal, they tracked Yusu's father, the former Spirit Detective nearly ten years ago. He was never captured but I know for a fact that he is no longer living."

"A-are you saying that Yusu is half?" Kurama asked, stunned.

"Hai…and I would greatly appreciate it if you wouldn't tell Yusu about it. Knowing that girl, she'd stop at nothing to learn the truth. And in the worst-case-scenario, if she found out that they were the cause of her father's disappearance as well it may start an endless cycle of revenge. If Yusu were to step out of bounds and enter Seireitei illegally, she could set off a chain reaction that would result in an all out war between Seireitei and Ningenkai."

* * *

Six hours after the mission to rescue Sasuke started, and the team was now divided, fighting the sound-nins one-to-one. And Neji had only moments ago defeated Kidomaru, but not without sustaining major injuries of his own. And as he collapsed to his knees, his vision softened, creating an illusion before his eyes.

His previous vision of Yusuke's older form appeared, walking up to him slowly dressed all in white. Her long black hair gently swaying as it glimmered in the light. She stopped halfway to him, her hands in front of her like they were ready to accept something when a bright light appeared and forming into solid matter. It was a crystal…but what was it for? He saw her pinks lips move, forming words, but his vision was blurred and he couldn't read them.

He reached out a hand to touch them, but they had faded away as his vision darkened and he fell to the forest floor, unable to get back up.

* * *

(Gotei 13 Meeting Hall)

Koenma entered the meeting hall with his Rekai-tentai following close behind as his guards as he stood before Yamamoto-Genryuusai, 1st Captain of the Gotei 13, who bowed in respect, the other captains following his lead as they bowed as well.

"We are humbled to be in your presence, Koenma-sama." said Yamamoto in a formal manner.

Koenma nodded, "Thank you. Please, raise your heads and be at ease in my presence. I have come here on my father's behalf to brief you all on matters that concern the balance between our realm and the human realm. You may or may not be fully aware of this fact, but Reikai Intelligence have been finding strange readings of reiki appearing randomly within Ningenkai and it has become a concern of safety between the two boundaries."

"Yes, we have recently become aware of such a situation and have sent out scouts to the human world to investigate." Yamamoto said, carefully scrutinizing the Prince's guards and feeling out their power levels, discovering that for such a young bunch, they hid their powers well. "Currently, no reports have reached us to alert a state of emergency."

"I am relieved to hear that you have kept on top of things here, Captain, but you must know that my visit is not only for just one thing. It has also come to my attention that you have also sent out shinigamis to areas that are not authorized for you to enter, such that it interferes with the affairs of Rekai business." Koenma said, careful to not mention that the shinigamis were entering shinobi territory. "I implore you to have those shinigamis leave those areas immediately, less a dispute were to occur."

"To quit now when our scouts are out collecting data would prove to be a waste of our time and energy in the long-run and our further understanding of the developing world will have holes in it." spoke up Kurotsuchi Mayuri, Captain of the 12th Division and President of the Shinigami Research Institute. "You waste your breath by requesting such a thing."

"I understand that you must gather information to keep yourself updated with the goings-on in the human world, but the Gotei 13 is under oath to stay out of certain territories without prior confirmation and approval of the Royal Seal." Koenma countered.

"Then perhaps the oath is also in need of an update." said Kurotsuchi.

Kuwabara leaned in a bit closer to Yusuke to whisper, "That guy looks like a scary clown."

"Tell me about it." Yusuke whispered back, glancing at each of the thirteen captains. _From the looks of it, even I would be fooled by their appearance on the streets._ she thought until she saw a select few of whom fit the profile of crazed murderer.

Hiei and Kurama on the other hand knew that they were restricted from standing out too much, having to wear special pendants around their necks to hide their demon energy. After a long, arduous debate, the meeting ended with neither side getting what they wanted, which ticked off Koenma because the Gotei 13 were supposed to be loyal to the Royal Family and not so defiant.

As the five of them were escorted to the portal gate back to Reikai, Yusuke was overcome with a nagging curiosity of Seireitei and of why some of the captains had looked at her with familiarity.

"Is everything all right, Yusu?" Kurama asked as they continued walking, having noticed that the usually spirited girl had been uncharacteristically quiet all morning. "You've barely said a word today."

"Well…I'm worried about the guys back home and how their mission is going. But also…the way those captains had looked at me…it was weird and it gave me a sense of discomfort." Yusuke said.

"Try not to dwell on it and let's focus on getting home quickly." Kurama said. Yusuke nodded in agreement, though she couldn't forget that easily.

Upon returning back from Seireitei and to Reikai, Yusuke was the first to head back to Konoha without even saying so much as to what was on her mind since it was obvious to everyone why she was in a hurry. Kuwabara had followed Yusuke, since without his spiritual powers, he was clueless on where to go within Reikai.

Kurama and Hiei once again stayed behind long enough to confirm their intention of keeping the secret from Yusuke, but would not hesitate to tell her the truth if she were to ask. Koenma begrudgingly complied, knowing that the truth would be discovered sooner or later, whether it was by him or by someone else. Though the Prince of Reikai would much rather keep quiet about the whole thing.

Yusuke was quick to send for aid, using her Spirit Beast, Puu to fly to the neighboring Country of Sand, knowing that Puu would reach the Sand village within minutes versus hours using a regular carrier bird. She just hoped that she wasn't too late.

* * *

"What's this?" Tsunade wondered as she picked up a slip of paper that was weighted down by the medicine bottle next to Lee's empty hospital bed.

_Send a back-up team of medics to pick up any stragglers._

_Yusu_

Tsunade smirked as she turned to Shizune. "Round up a team of medics and go after the boys."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said, rushing out the door.

_I suppose there's an advantage of having two Hokage's at the same time._ Tsunade thought with an amused smile.

* * *

"Neji!" Yusuke called, running up to Neji's body. Dropping to her knees, she turned the Hyuuga prodigy onto his back. "Neji, hang in there." Yusuke reached into her hip pouch and pulled out a small jar, opening it, a potent smell reached her nose as she dug two fingers into the white pasty substance and rubbed it into the gapping wound on Neji's shoulder.

She saw Neji's reaction turn to a cringing pain as the salve burned the wound closed, stopping the massive bleeding.

_At least Kurama's medicines come in handy for these situations. Makes me pretty thankful that I take it with me everywhere I go._ Yusuke thought as she placed another two-fingers-full of the salve onto the wound on Neji's abdomen.

Neji cracked open his eyes, his vision blurred with tears from the burning sting of the medicine to look up at Yusuke. His head was resting on her lap, his hitai-ate replaced by a cool wet cloth from Yusuke's small emergency kit.

"Yu…su…?" came his weak voice.

"Hey, relax. You've done your part." Yusuke said, having seen the body of the defeated Kidomaru.

"Yusuke-dono," a medic-nin said, landing before Yusuke and Neji with two other medics equipped with the supplies that Yusuke didn't have.

"Don't tell me this is all that hag sent out?! Where're the rest of you guys?!" Yusuke bantered.

"The others have gone in search for the rest of the others." the medic informed.

"Oh." was all Yusuke had to say as they took Neji into their care. _And now, to catch up with the others._

* * *

Naruto stared up in surprise to see Lee standing in front of him, facing Kimimaru in a readied position.

"Bushy-brow?" Naruto said.

"Naruto-kun, go on ahead after Sasuke. I will fight this one." Lee said. Naruto nodded his head and ran off in the direction Sasuke went. "Now, shall we begin?"

* * *

Yusuke leapt from branch-to-branch, going as fast as she could. Looking to her left, right, and back she returned to looking forward again with a satisfied smile.

"What the hell took you three so long?" she asked.

"Excuse us for getting such a sudden request." Temari scoffed. "Suna isn't exactly very close y'know!"

"Right, I'd say 'I'm sorry' but I've lost my sense of sincerity at the moment." Yusuke said.

"You're lucky we came at all." Kankuro said, "Your damn bird gave us a surprise, showing up out of nowhere like he did."

"Anyways, I sensed Shikamaru a few ways back but I lost Kiba somewhere to the north. Lee and Naruto are just up ahead." Yusuke said.

Temari and Kankuro both took off, leaving Yusuke and Gaara to continue onward.

* * *

Lee fell back after he became sober once more, fatigue finally setting in as he watched in fear of Kimimaru, approaching him with a killer's intent. But he jumped back when a rain of sand came crashing down like a wave. Lee looked up behind him to see Gaara standing calmly with his arms folded across his chest.

"Gaara?" he breathed.

"Oh man, I was afraid he'd show up." Yusuke said, coming up to Gaara's side.

"Yusu-chan, you came!" Lee said.

"Ah, Urameshi, so nice to see you again." Kimimaru said monotonously.

"You can take it from here, right?" Yusuke asked, looking at Gaara who curtly nodded his head. "Right, I'm off!"

Yusuke ran right past Kimimaru, who did nothing to stop her as he was preoccupied with staring at Gaara, intrigued of his control over sand.

"I hope you make it in time, Yusu-chan." Lee said, watching as Yusuke flickered out of sight.

"Don't worry about her," Gaara drawled, "She can take care of herself."

Lee smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

* * *

Sasuke stared blankly down at Naruto who lied on the rocks, defeated and unconscious. Though he'd be in the same fix if it weren't for the cursed mark on his neck, keeping him unwillingly conscious.

His hitai-ate had a slash across the leaf symbol and he found it fitting, since he no longer saw himself as a Konoha shinobi. Especially after nearly killing his ex-teammate. Turning away to leave, he wasn't at all surprised to see Yusuke standing in his way, looking partly exhausted from coming so far in less time than it took to get there.

"Step aside." Sasuke demanded calmly.

"You realize of course that what you've done is a crime against Konoha. Betraying the village and killing a teammate is just two on that long list." Yusuke said, "I never really liked you, but as Hokage _and_ a citizen, I can't forgive you for what you've done for your selfish need of power."

"Good. I never once asked your forgiveness." Sasuke said coldly, taking a step forward but stopped at that when Yusuke raised her right arm.

"One more step," Yusuke's finger began to glow with her reiki building up, "And I'll shoot."

Sasuke daringly took another step and Yusuke fired, grazing his right cheek, singeing the skin. But he kept walking. He walked right up to Yusuke until they were able to see each others reflection in each others eyes.

"Come with me." he said.

She stared into his onyx eyes, trying to find doubt in them but saw nothing but her own doubt. "No. Unlike you…I don't have a desire to cut the ties I've made." she said, "But this isn't goodbye. We'll cross paths again."

Sasuke closed the space between them, pressing his lips to hers before pulling away. He moved past her and Yusuke did nothing to stop him.

…Again.

* * *

"They were fortunate to have held on this long, we only hope that they will hold on for a while longer as our medics do their best." said a medic-nin, informing the waiting group outside the emergency room.

In another part of the hospital outside another emergency room, Yusuke sat on the bench, her knees drawn up to her chest, hugging them.

"You made a good call to send for Suna's help, and to also send out a medic team." Kakashi said, walking up to the Spirit Detective and taking a seat beside her.

"But Sasuke still got away." Yusuke said, though in truth, if she wanted to she could have brought Sasuke back but didn't.

"But everyone's alive, that's what's important." Kakashi said, "I doubt those boys would've survived hadn't it been for you, who came in the nick of time for them."

"Hardly. I overlooked most of them because I was so focused on getting to Sasuke."

"Well, yeah, but at least you did _something_." Kakashi paused for a moment as he glanced down at the girl. "Sakura told me everything you said to her, about how you could care less about someone who doesn't listen when in fact it's those very people who you worry about the most. Am I right?"

Silence.

"If only I wasn't so stubborn."

"That too." Kakashi said, not disagreeing with the stubbornness.

After the long hours of intense surgery, both Chouji and Neji, who were in critical condition, were now moved to the recuperation rooms, stabilized. Much to everyone's relief. And walking down the hall to Chouji's room was Shikamaru. He was on his way to check in on his teammate, knowing he'd be able to sleep better once he saw his friend.

But as he turned down the next wing, he bumped into Yusuke.

"Well, well, if it isn't the 'girl who doesn't care,' what brings you here?" Shikamaru asked.

"Ha-ha, I'm here for a visit, is that a crime?" Yusuke asked sarcastically.

"Right…" Shikamaru said as Yusuke walked past him, "Oh, and thanks for sending out the help. Who knows what could've—" Shikamaru cut off after a strange feeling went through him, and seeing the look on Yusuke's face, he knew she felt it too. "What the—"

_What the hell…?_ Yusuke thought as the blood curdling howl ended. _That sounded like…_

Unknown to Yusuke, Naruto, who had been lying awake in his hospital bed, had also heard the howl, and pondered with a million questions as to what it was. And where it came from.

* * *

"What is a Hollow doing here in Konoha?" Yusuke asked; sitting with her team out on one of the least used training grounds.

"We aren't sure ourselves," Kurama began, "Most likely it was attracted by the excessive amount of reiki, after all, chakra and reiki aren't that different from each other."

"Last time we encountered a Hollow was back when we were competing in Genkai's tournament." Kuwabara said.

"Yeah," Yusuke said as she thought back to that time. "Hmm, come to think of it we haven't seen one since then, either."

"So you have encountered one before. Then Koenma must've lied about it." Hiei said.

"Koenma doesn't know." Yusuke said, "Genkai told Botan to not report it because it would cause boundary issues between Reikai and Seireitei."

"She was right to do so, relations with Seireitei is strained and complicated." Kurama said, "We should find it before a shinigami from Seireitei come looking for it."

"They better not." Kuwabara said, "Koenma made it clear that they aren't allowed in ninja territory."

"His authority isn't enough to keep them from doing their job." said Kurama.

"I'm still unclear as to why they're banned from entering our territory." Kuwabara said.

"Well, it's mostly because many skilled ninjas with high levels of chakra which also gives them a higher sense of spiritual awareness." Kurama said, "Because of this, ninjas who encounter a shinigami most of the time mistake them for the enemy and end up fighting to the death. So a rule was enforced for all shinigamis to stay out of ninja territory."

"How come no one ever told me about this stuff when I started out as the Spirit Detective?" Yusuke asked.

"More than likely it's because Koenma believed you wouldn't need to know such things. And he's probably right, there's a slim chance that you'll meet a Shinigami out here." Kurama said.

"I guess so…" Yusuke said slowly, unsure of what to expect. _Maybe I should ask Genkai or better yet, Koenma himself?_ she wondered.

* * *

Koenma sat at his desk, frustrated at the mountains of paperwork he still had to go through, and they didn't seem to be getting any less in quantity. His job was frustrating to the very point where he'd want to stop everything and throw a tantrum from the amount of work he had to do.

Frankly, he was envious of Yusuke to be free of such things now that Tsunade had been appointed as the Rokudaime. It must be bliss to have the privilege of doing what you pleased.

Koenma let out a sigh as he stared at his office space where there was hardly any space to move.

"Wait! You can't go in there!" he heard one of his ogres' say, "Koenma-sama said to not be disturbed!"

The doors were pushed open as Yusuke entered the crammed office while the ogres stood in fear behind her. But Koenma was glad to have a distraction for once as he motioned his ogres away as they closed the door.

"Well, well, this is an unexpected surprise, Yusu." Koenma said, folding his fingers together under his chin as he watched Yusuke easily slide in between the stacks of paper towards him. "What brings you to Reikai on your own?"

"Can I ask you something about the shinigamis?" she asked without blinking an eye. Koenma wasn't really expecting such a question from Yusuke.

"Of course. What is it that you wished to know?" Koenma asked.

"I've been thinking, how does someone become a shinigami?" Yusuke asked.

Koenma blinked, not at all prepared by such a question to come from his defiant Spirit Detective. "Well, to begin with, you would have to be a soul with a unique amount of Reiki. Then you go on to enter the Shinigami Academy to be trained to become a shinigami and then are placed into one of the thirteen squads based on your skill level and then become promoted if you excel above your peers."

"So it's kinda like becoming a shinobi, then?"

"Well, not necessarily. There is the matter of your zanpakutou and understanding the powers of it and such. Why the sudden interest, Yusu?"

"So if I wanted to become a shinigami I'd first have to be a soul?" Yusuke asked, "Well, I've already done that before."

Koenma scoffed at that, "Please, it's not as easy as you'd think and besides they're nothing but cretins if you ask me. My father is the one who controls them, but even he can do so much to keep them under his command. You see, Yusu, Seireitei is a separate space between Reikai and Ningenkai. In the old days, souls used to be ferried exclusively by people like Botan and brought straight to the Gate of Judgment, but since Seireitei was formed, souls that are purified by a shinigami go to Seireitei directly and wait to be reborn. But sometimes it would take hundreds to thousands of years before a soul is reborn.

"Of course the way things are over there, the souls have been stuck with no place to go, and the majority of those souls live in poverty. But there is an equal balance in it all, thus the cycle is maintained. If something or someone were to tip the scale, we'd both pay some serious consequences."

"If what you say is true, then how come I wasn't picked up by shinigamis like them when I died?" Yusuke asked.

"Because you weren't a lost soul. Nor were you a Hollow. Plus, shinigamis don't get to every soul, only those whose chains have been cut."

"Chains? I don't remember having chains when I was a ghost."

"That's because your death was an inconvenience, a stroke of luck, if you will." A vein pulsed in Yusuke's temple at that comment, remembering how Botan had told her that her death was a complete fluke. "Anyways, Yusu, you should be cautious about shinigamis. They may not harm you, but I advise you to stay away from them."

"Are they dangerous?"

"The peons you can take, hands down. It's the captains I advise you to stay away from at all costs. If I were to compare their strengths, I'd say they're pretty close to A, even S-rank demons of Makai. In truth…" Koenma's voice lowered, "They're the ones who are responsible for the disappearance of your father."

Yusuke's eyes widened.

"My…father?"

"Yes. By the way, since you're here I may as well give this to you now." Koenma said, handing a glass ball to Yusuke. "When you get home, smash this against a wall."

"What?"

"It's a message. Apparently a king in Makai has taken an interest in you and wants to give you a message. Kurama and Hiei received their own message spheres from two other kings."

"Really? That's weird."

* * *

"NANI?!" both Tsunade and Shizune exclaimed together.

"I'm going to be leaving for awhile, so take care of the village in my absence." Yusuke said in nonchalance.

"B-But, Yusu-chan! What made you come to this decision all of a sudden?" Shizune asked.

"I got an invitation to go to Makai by a demon king, so I'll be gone for who-knows how long." Yusuke said.

"Yusu, do you have a concussion or something? Your job is to hunt demons, not join them." Tsunade said.

"Kurama and Hiei are both demons, and they're not evil."

"That's—that's different!" Tsunade said.

"How? How are they different? I've met plenty of demons and not all of them were evil. In fact, I made a lot friends who are demons. Besides, I think if I refuse this offer I might lose out on something great." Yusuke said with a cheerful smile. "So take care of the village 'till I a come back, okay?"

Tsunade felt reluctant to let Yusuke go, having grown too comfortable with her around, picking up any slack of running the village. And now, she knew, deep in her heart, that Yusuke leaving for whatever cause, mission or not, would be good for the girl. Tsunade had been noticing the signs of anxiety and depression within Yusuke, how her daily habits had changed ever so slightly, not to mention her lack of enthusiasm when it came to bickering with her teammates.

With a heavy sigh, Tsunade nodded her head in approval. "Come back home safely, Yusu."

* * *

**AN: Review/comment!  
**

**Ciao for now**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Naruto stared up at the ceiling of his hospital room, bored, and unable to sleep unlike Kiba and Chouji who were both out like a light. It was annoying for him, unable to get out of the hospital like Neji, so he could start training again to build up for when he went to go find Sasuke.

At the moment he was envying Kuwabara who was out with his team, scouting the forest. Free to move around. Even if it was raining as hard as it was. Naruto just wanted to get out.

_I wonder what Yusuke nee-chan had to do to be able to shoot chakra like that and still have more left in her?_ Naruto thought, holding up his hand like he was going to shoot a bullet of chakra like Yusuke. _Did she go through some special training with Genkai baa-chan? Or are the stories really true about her…about how she died and came back to life. I want to know…I want to know how she became so strong…Maybe…_

Naruto fisted his bed sheets.

_Maybe Yusuke nee-chan is more capable of bringing Sasuke back than I am…Sasuke, you bastard…you made Sakura-chan cry again, and you even made Yusuke nee-chan come after you in the end…but you still got away…_

_I vow…to get you back no matter what it takes!_

* * *

"Yusu-chan, why not step away from the window and help your dear obaa-san with dinner?" said Yusuke's grandmother.

"Hmm?" Yusuke turned around slightly to look back at the elderly woman from her conflicting thoughts.

"I said come help me, child." said Yusuke's grandmother, waving her over.

"Hai, obaa-san." Yusuke said, walking over to the counter and taking the ladle from the old woman and began pouring the sauce into the little saucers.

"You seem distracted, Yusu-chan, could it be because you're not feeling well?"

"You could say that."

"Oh? And what could have you acting so strange? Could it be our little Yusu is thinking about that nice Hyuuga boy?"

Yusuke spilled some of the sauce from the ladle, her cheeks turning pink as she thought back to that kiss in the woods.

"There's no need to be embarrassed, Yusu-chan. The Hyuuga clan were once good friends with the Urameshi clan, it's only natural that a bond like yours will happen. It was your father's wish after all."

Yusuke stared at her grandmother's back as the elderly woman stirred the stew.

"I always knew my son was a foolish boy, but he was smart and understanding, had a strong sense of right and wrong and had such a big heart. Hyuuga Hizashi and Uchiha Fugaku, being his closest friends, made a deal for their children to marry so that their bond would never die. Of course your brother was already born at the time, and Fugaku also had a son who was the same age. And then Neji-kun turned out to be a boy, too." The old woman chuckled at the memory of those days. "Luckily you were born, giving hope to their promise. Those three had such high hopes of fulfilling such a promise. Originally you were suppose to marry Itachi, and should the other two have a girl, then the cycle would be complete. Of course not much later did Hizashi pass away and that dreadful massacre happen to the Uchihas and your father disappearing to who knows where, did we forget the bond. But it was still there. I knew you two would end up together in the end, I could feel it in these old bones of mine."

"Obaa-san, do you know why tou-san left?"

"No, my dear, sadly I don't."

"I see…guess it's just one of life's mysteries."

* * *

That night, Yusuke laid awake in her bed as the heavy rain continued to pound against her closed window. Her thoughts still lingering on her conversation with Koenma just hours ago.

_When Yusuke had returned from Reikai with the message sphere, she immediately had gone home and locked herself in her room. Alone, she threw the glass ball against the wall like Koenma had instructed and immediately it shattered and ink etched itself onto the wall to create an animated image of a demon with long wild hair._

"_Konichiwa, Urameshi Yusuke…I am Raizen, King of my territory here in Makai. I am reaching out to you now to fulfill a promise I made to your father. Intrigued yet? I can make a good guess that you're burning to know what fate your father met. I can tell you the truth so if you want to know, then come to Makai. I'll be seeing you soon, kid."_

_The image faded and Yusuke was left with a new determination._

Yusuke sighed and raised her right hand, holding it over her face as she recalled her last visit to Seireitei and how uncomfortable it made her feel to be in a room full of the strongest shinigamis. It wasn't their powers that made her nervous but their constant stares. It had felt like being put on display for their entertainment.

"_Must be nice to be in the good graces of the prince." spoke Ichimura Gin, captain of the 3__rd__ unit. Not to mention he had a spooky face that sent unpleasant chills up Yusuke's spine. At that time, Yusuke and her team were waiting outside the office of the 1__st__ captain's office while Koenma spoke to the old man._

_Yusuke tensed, not at all liking the vibe that came off of Gin. Even Kuwabara, who was lacking his sixth sense tensed up from unease. _

"_We are in no position to exchange words with you beyond this point. So please, excuse our lack of communication." Kurama said._

"_Oh my, how scary for such young children to act in such a way." Gin said in a light taunt._

"_Ya shouldn't waste yer breath, Gin. They're nothin' but a bunch of wet-nosed brats." said Zaraki Kenpachi, captain of the 11__th__ unit, walking up to stand beside his colleague._

_Yusuke instantly wanted nothing more than to leave and return home as her stomach churned with further unease. Her heart was hammering inside her chest and her palms were moist and cold. It was becoming a bit difficult to breathe when each breath felt like razors ripping her lungs and throat. She understood why she should be wary of the two captains, but she didn't understand why her body tensed and her stomach churned and her heart raced with fear and adrenaline. _

_Or was it something else? She knew she had no reason to fear but her body was acting out on its own accord and she had no control, which is why she figured it to be the natural reaction of fear. The only time she remembered feeling such a way was when she was faced with Toguro's raw power during the final match in the Dark Tournament, since then, nothing compared…until she came face-to-face with the shinigami captains. But this…this right now…felt different._

_She felt a bit…faint?_

"_I heard how you punks won the Dark Tournament a few months ago and I just wanna see exactly how strong you really are. Especially…" Kenpachi sneered, turning his one visible eye and pointing his zanpakutou purposely to Yusuke. "…you. I heard you defeated a high ranked demon by yourself. Hard to believe that a little girl like you could achieve such a thing. So show me."_

"_Show you what?" Yusuke asked, embarrassed by how weak her voice was. _

"_Show me just how strong you are. Fight me, little girl."_

_Instantly Yusuke and her team all tensed and Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei all straightened their backs, ready to strike back at the shinigami captain._

"_Now, now, let's be civil here. Koenma's pets obviously aren't here to fight." Gin said, though he didn't appear to care either way, just amused to see what happens next._

"_C'mon, Spirit Detective, show me just how strong a fighter you are!" Kenpachi thrust his sword forward and Yusuke instantly reacted by jumping back, out of reach from the blade. Hiei and Kurama both acted as shields, halting Kenpachi's zanpakutou with their weapons of choice while Kuwabara had moved in front of Yusuke._

_Frowning, Kenpachi pushed forward, determined to see first hand of what the Spirit Detective could do. Most of all, he wanted to test his own strength against the Spirit Wave technique he's heard so much about. Forcing himself through Hiei and Kurama and then kicking Kuwabara aside, nothing was left between him and Yusuke._

"_Urameshi! Run!" Kuwabara said, holding his bruised ribs._

_Yusuke couldn't hear past her thundering heart as she watched Kenpachi approach her, sword at the ready. He struck, and Yusuke evaded. With each swing of the sword, Yusuke dodged out of the way, her impulse to fight back delayed by a haze momentary hesitance._

_Kenpachi feinted a blow to the side and slashed upward, catching Yusuke off guard. Her teammates were all shocked at the scene they had witnessed as Yusuke staggered back, her hands over her face, and then fell to her knees, head down. Blood flowing freely through her fingers._

"_Yusu!"_

"_Zaraki-taichou! What is the meaning of this?" boomed in the voice of Yamamoto-Genryuusai. _

"_Tch! Nothing more than a cocky brat." Kenpachi scuffed as he turned sharply and walked off with his sword resting against his shoulder._

"_Urameshi!" Kuwabara said, hurrying to Yusuke's side, along with Kurama as they both checked on their team leader. Hiei stayed back, his distrust of Gin keeping him from turning his back to the spook-faced shinigami._

"_Have you no control of your captains, Commander?" Koenma scolded, outraged of the attack of his Spirit Detective._

"_Yusu, how badly hurt are you?" Kurama asked, though he could guess by how much blood was streaming through Yusuke's fingers. Slowly, he pulled Yusuke's hands away and saw that she had been cut from the right top of her forehead, and diagonally across to her left jaw. Luckily her eyes had not been harmed and the cut was shallow, but clearly it had shaken Yusuke._

After returning to Reikai, Yusuke had been tended to by a doctor and the scar was healed leaving no lingering marks. But mentally Yusuke was still haunted by it, bothered by the fact that she was virtually paralyzed and could do nothing but dodge. Normally she would have been able to fight back with ease. Sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of her bed, Yusuke walked over to her closet, pulling out an empty pack and began to fill it with a few essentials.

Yusuke paused again when she thought about Sasuke and how he had kissed her. She also remembered how she felt a slight jolt go through her when their lips touched. She felt her face grow hot. Two boys kissed her out of the blue and she had no idea what to do about it. Not matter…

"Yusu," said Susumu at her bedroom door. "Tonight, I'm going to test you before you leave."

"What for? I'm not a master of the Reshuuken."

"Because it's tradition." he said before turning away down the hall.

It was almost time for her to leave.

But first…

* * *

Neji woke up from his sleep, his pale eyes immediately going to his right as he saw Yusuke sitting on the edge of his bed. He felt his heart beat a little faster at the sight of her, and he felt a little fluttery at the idea that she was worried about him.

"Yusu, what are you doing here?" he asked as he sat up slowly in bed.

"I'm going to be leaving Konoha," she said without looking at him.

"How long will you be gone?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know…a couple years maybe. My goal is to be gone for only three years but who knows…things might change depending on the situation."

He reached out and pulled her arm, getting her attention. "Yusu, what aren't you telling me?"

She met his stare. "I don't want you to wait for me."

He blinked and felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that it would be a waste of your time to wait for someone like me. This is going to sound insensitive but the truth is you and I are heading down different paths. Your place is here with your clan, while as for me…this village doesn't have the answer I'm looking for."

"And what are you questioning?"

"This is goodbye, Neji." she said, getting up and leaving his room through the window.

"Yusuke, wait!" he called, attempting to go after her but stopped when a sharp pain in his side crippled him from doing anything. He cursed softly.

* * *

Naruto had snuck out of his room and onto the roof, looking out beyond Konoha, thinking about how he had failed in bringing Sasuke back. He felt so…_weak_…! And he hated it.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked in a low voice.

"I need you to give me my necklace I lent you." Yusuke replied, standing five steps behind Naruto who looked back at her.

"Why?" Naruto asked slowly.

"I can't tell you my reasons, you wouldn't understand." Yusuke said, an emotionless look on her face as she approached Naruto and hugged him.

"Nee-san…" Naruto breathed, not knowing how to react to this sudden act as he felt his cheeks get slightly warm.

"Take care, Naruto-kun." Yusuke whispered, stepping back with the necklace in her hand. Naruto reached up to feel that she had taken the necklace from him, realizing that she hugged him for that reason.

Without a single word, Naruto silently and helplessly watched Yusuke, his senpai…the Godaime…the strongest kunoichi…his friend…walk away. After all, how can he stop someone who had the power to make mountains crumble at her feet?

* * *

Yusuke stood across from her brother inside the rebuilt stadium where the chuunin finals were held. The stands were full of mainly the Urameshi clan, jounins, and of course Tsunade and Yusuke's teammates.

"For some reason facing you is more nerve wracking than when I was in the Dark Tournament." Yusuke said to her brother.

"I have kept my promise to tou-san by keeping watch over you and the clan. Even though I have no real intention of staying in this village. Once you leave, Yusu, my promise will be void and I'll be free to leave, too. While you search for the answer to the question that has been plaguing you, I will be searching for my own answers as well."

Yusuke smirked, "Well, then I guess we'll both be pretty busy after this."

"I, too, have my own agenda to fulfill."

Instantly Yusuke's power flared up, visible to the naked eye, showing off the raw power that she possessed. Susumu, not at all intimidated, also flared up, showing off his raw power that rivaled his own sibling's.

The village shinobis who came on Tsunade's orders to witness the strength of their parting Godaime were all overwhelmed with shock and amazement that such people could harness such power. And in their village no less.

"They both just flared up without any warning." Kuwabara said in awe.

Just as quickly as their powers inflamed, it vanished as they both took off at a normal sprint down arena. Sizing each other up before the initial attack.

_Something's wrong…_ Yusuke thought, _how could I have overlooked this power? Since when did nii-san have so much reiki? Was he secretly training by himself? Is he stronger than I am? The only way to know for sure is to face him head on!_ Yusuke skid to a halt and sprang towards Susumu, flicking out of sight to appear at his blind spot to the left. _This is it. I've caught him off guard._

Going in with a classic right hook, Yusuke didn't expect to have her punch to be knocked away, and was left open for an attack. She watched as Susumu raised his right leg and kicked her across the head, sending her back towards the arena wall.

Yusuke maneuvered herself to her feet and skid across the ground, the left side of her forehead red and throbbing, yet she grinned and said, "Try that again."

Again Yusuke flashed forward, trying the same attack only to end up with the same results as she went flying into the wall, cracking the stone from the force of her body hitting it and then peeled forward onto the ground.

"Get up, Urameshi!" Kuwabara called out.

Yusuke got back up onto her feet, debris falling off of her while hugging her ribs that she was sure were cracked as she wiped off blood from her lip with her other hand.

_What the hell was that? All my punches were solid, but he brushed them aside like broccoli he didn't order. Nii-san's not giving me a chance to kick his ass._ Yusuke thought.

"As I thought, the two siblings are too much alike." Kurama said, as Kuwabara looked at him. "With their similar background, and being blood related, it's akin to fighting your own reflection in the mirror. A futile war that cannot be won. He anticipates Yusu's every move. It's what he would do. Only he's one step ahead."

"You're not wrong. And it's thanks to the Urameshi's Reshuuken Style." Tsunade said, as all eyes turned to her.

"Reshuuken?" Kuwabara inquired.

"It's a special brand of martial arts that relies on fast footwork. The fighter maintains his position while diverting attacks with his arms, then retaliates with powerful kicks. There are stringent rules governing the study of the Reshuuken Style: One may only learn its ways once they have every other technique under their belt. So, many consider it the strongest, most elegant maneuver in all of martial arts. It's a trump card within the Urameshi clan, taught to the clan members as soon as they can walk. Susumu is a master of the art and Yusu's barely touched the surface, that's why she isn't dead right now, because she can prevent the kicks from causing too much damage. Just by learning it the hard way like they all did."

Yusuke skid back several yards down the arena after blocking a kick from Susumu that would have crushed her ribs. "Studying our family's special martial arts, even teaching you, Yusu, the basics of it, made me strong." Susumu said, as he moved his left palm to face upwards and formed a magenta colored sphere of energy that put every shinobi who was witnessing this on high guard. "But this technique you have never seen, or may never learn. It's my own special blend of Reshuuken and Reiki. A vengeful new twist on an old favorite. I like to call it the Reikou-Reshuuken."

"Remarkable. Energy and style as one." Kurama gasped.

_Well, you've been making the most of your free time…_ Yusuke sarcastically thought as a cough tickled its way up Yusuke's throat.

Susumu tossed the sphere into the air and leapt up with it, turning in mid-air to face Yusuke down on the arena floor.

"This is a taste of my power." he said, preparing himself to kick the sphere like a soccer ball. The sphere of energy shot past Yusuke's head and curved upward into the sky, leaving a stunned Yusuke in place.

_Whoa…that was too close for comfort!_ Yusuke thought.

"Guess all the training in the world can't make up for bad aim." Kuwabara said.

"No, Susumu did the same as Yusuke did in the Dark Tournament. Remember her fight with Chu? She had showed off her powerful attack first before starting the real fight, Susumu merely mimicked that, showing off his." Kurama said.

"Heads up!" Tsunade shouted as Susumu came down towards Yusuke. His right foot stuck straight down for a crushing stomp upon his sibling, but Yusuke had back-flipped away as Susumu's foot broke the pavement.

Yusuke narrowed her eyes at her brother. "That's it! I'm permanently retiring your ass!"

"For such a dumb kid you've got a pretty smart mouth, Yusu." Susumu said, but Yusuke ignored him as she ran forward, thrusting out another punch.

Susumu raised his left hand to block, but found that Yusuke had stopped and began to leave after images of herself around him, trying to confuse him.

"Interesting. Not a bad fake. But it'll do you no good." Susumu said, seeing through Yusuke's trick and blocking her punch and then following with an excellent kick to the stomach.

Yusuke went flying upwards this time and came crashing down into the stands where some jounins had scrambled out of the way. Sitting up gingerly and coughing for air, Yusuke held her sore stomach as she looked up at her brother who had flash-stepped onto the ledge, looking down at her.

"It's a shame Junior couldn't find a better detective. I just can't decide if I should be insulted or sorry that you took up father's place instead of me." Susumu said, before flipping backwards back down into the arena.

Yusuke gasped as she jumped up onto her feet and went after her brother. The jounins were all amazed that she was even able to get up. On impulse, Yusuke channeled chakra into her legs to jump up with incredible speed as she threw out a right punch, missing her target as he moved aside. Again, Yusuke made the initial move, only to have her punch knocked away and block a powerful kick that sent her flying down, crashing into the ground and creating a small crater.

Yusuke quickly flipped onto her feet and began to dodge the on-set of kicks that Susumu was giving as everyone watched the magnificent fight. Susumu swung his right leg around and finally kicked Yusuke in the side. At first it seemed like Susumu had won, but Yusuke's arm hooked around his leg as she mustered up enough of her smug attitude to give a half-grin.

"Well, now that I've finally got a leg up on you," she said as her right fist powered up with Spirit Energy. "Let's see how you play kickball with this!"

About to fire, Yusuke was caught off guard as Susumu kicked her across the head with his other leg, sending her reeling down across the arena again where she bounced once and then skid to a halt on her back.

"Luckily I have a spare." Susumu said as he calmly jumped down and walked up towards Yusuke, who just sat up and shook her head.

"She sure can take a beating." Tsunade said.

"Yeah, I have a theory that all the nerves in her body have stopped working after all the fights she's been in." Kuwabara said.

Yusuke raised her right arm at Susumu and yelled, "I hope you roast in hell, you bastard! Spirit Gun!" The massive blast of reiki shot out from Yusuke's fingers. Susumu quickly leapt backwards for distance and summoned his own technique.

"Resshuu-Koukyuuha!" Susumu said, kicking his own signature attack, neutralizing Yusuke's Spirit Gun blast.

_That jerk popped my Spirit Gun like a balloon!_ Yusuke thought as veins began to appear on her head, showing her irritation before doubling over and coughing into her palm. Not having realized from before that Susumu had damaged a few of her internal organs.

"Enough of this, Yusu." Susumu said, walking up to his sister again and standing over her like a tower. "You lost, admit defeat."

"Yeah, yeah," she said, "You're definitely better than me."

"Those kicks Susumu had demonstrated," Kurama began, stepping up beside Tsunade. "If Yusu hadn't dodged them the way she did, what would have really happened?"

"The Reshuuken Style is a very powerful form of martial arts. If used correctly, the user can destroy his opponent, not only physically, but internally as well by channeling chakra into their legs and feet." Tsunade explained, "It's almost like the Hyuuga clan's taijutsu, only this is much more damaging. Of course, Yusuke knows how to avoid receiving critical damage; she just doesn't know how to repel the damaging chakra being channeled into her body. And with all the hits she's been desperately avoiding during her fight, I'm pretty sure it's only a matter of how far she'll push her body to its limit before her internal injuries slow her down."

"I'm surprised she didn't die from the first time she got kicked." Kakashi said, jumping down behind Tsunade and the group with Jiraiya, Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai.

"Does it really surprise you, Kakashi?" Jiraiya asked nonchalantly as he stared at the jounin from the corner of his eyes. "After witnessing Yusu's display of power back in the Dark Tournament, I'm surprised you'd doubt her ability to adjust during a battle."

"I don't doubt her ability; I'm just concerned of the affects that her body will be experiencing." Kakashi said. "She's still just a child if you've forgotten."

"Child or not, Yusuke was appointed as Hokage at fourteen. Eight years younger than when the Yondaime was chosen." Jiraiya said, "Give the girl some credit for her early achievements."

Susumu walked over to his sister and helped her up. "You still need more training but considering on where you plan to go, mastering the Reshuuken would be a waste of your time."

"You creep, you were listening outside my room, weren't you?" Yusuke said, glaring up at her brother.

"Yusuke, Susumu." said their mother, Atsuko, as she came up to them both. "Should you both be needing a place to stay or lay low for awhile, find Urahara Kisuke in a town called Karakura."

"Who's he?" Yusuke asked.

"Your uncle." Atsuko said, "I suppose now would be a good time to tell you both that I'm a shinigami, which makes you both half. Oh yeah, and when you both come back how about bringing back some souvenirs wherever the hell you two are going."

The siblings both sweat-dropped.

* * *

**AN: Review/Comment, any suggestions for future chapters? What should I add?  
**

**Ciao for Now**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

_When I was twelve…I died._

_I became a ghost, lost and confused. I couldn't grasp the fact that I died until I recounted the accident. That's when I met Botan. She led me home, where I saw my family mourn over my death, and then I knew…I had to come back. Botan took me to Reikai where I then met the young prince Koenma. He gave me an ordeal that came in the form of an egg, and I accepted._

_I was sent back to Ningenkai to allow my egg, my ordeal, to feed off my energy, so that it would hatch and guide me back into my body. But then a small fire broke out in my home, and I sacrificed my chance at life in order to save my brother and sister._

_I thought I'd be lost forever._

_Then, I was given a second chance by Koenma, and I was returned to my body by a kiss. That kiss was from Hyuuga Neji, the boy who was my rival at everything…and became my first kiss. After that, I became the Spirit Detective, protecting humanity from demons and evil spirits. That's when my team began to form, consisting of Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei._

_And as time went by, my small, narrow world grew larger and brighter with each friend I made. And through the trials and hardships, our bonds grew strong. So strong that we pulled each other through Maze Castle and the Dark Tournament, and lent each other a shoulder to lean on._

_My world grew broader when I became Hokage. The responsibility of an entire village rested in my hands. I did what I had to do for the good of the village…I had Tsunade brought back to take my place._

_Many events happened after that. Like a chain reaction of misfortune. And because I had failed to see the point of having so much power I decided to leave and find the answers to every one of my questions._

_So I left._

_I left to find myself, wanting all doubts behind me about my future._

_With Koenma's assistance, I was able to journey into Makai after receiving an invitation, where I trained for a year under King Raizen's tutelage before he died, leaving his domain to me as a parting gift. And as big a fool as I am, proposed to the other two Kings to step down from their thrones and have a tournament to decide who will be King of Makai._

_They agreed._

_A fierce competition of will was shown as every demon thought that they had a chance to become King. I lost, and so did Yomi and Mukuro. But luckily Enki, an old friend of Raizen's, won and became a good-natured and fair King and passed the law that no demon is to cause mischief in Ningenkai._

_That was a few months ago._

_Now…I've returned to Ningenkai, inside a little house that has a shop out front in a place called Karakura Town near a city called Tokyo. Tired of fighting and searching for the last few remaining answers to my questions. I often wonder why I don't just go back home to Konoha…but every time I think about home, the thought "I'm not ready yet" always surfaces._

_But that's fine…_

…_For now._

_Urahara, the uncle I never knew before my mother mentioned him, has been a good host, and has taught me much about Seireitei and other things I wish to know. So far I've been living here in the Urahara household for three months and I've grown quite accustomed to Karakura, finding it's more sophisticated technology irritating but also convenient and entertaining. On top of that I have to wear a rosary bracelet around my right wrist to suppress my Reiki and stay under Serireitei's radar. Apparently they've been looking for me for awhile now due to some recent uprising in demon activity._

_I'm sure the guys have it under control._

_There's enough spiritual activity in this small town as it is. According to Urahara, Karakura is like a mecca for Hollow activity and that there are shinigamis appointed here to keep the count under control. I've seen a few Hollows, even killed them if they notice me, and I stay out of sight from the shinigamis._

_To sum things up, it's kinda boring here._

* * *

(Three Years Later)

"Good morning, Yusu-chan!" Urahara Kisuke greeted enthusiastically as Yusuke walked into the cramped living room and sat down for breakfast, still in her pajamas that was basically a pair of lounge pants and a tank top.

"Ohayo." Yusuke greeted lazily.

"Did you sleep well, nee-chan?" Ururu asked, who was sitting next to Yusuke.

"Ah," Yusuke replied just as lazily as her greeting, taking a bowl of rice handed to her by Tessai, giving him a curt bow of her head. "How about you, Ururu-chan. Did you sleep well?"

"Hai! Very well!" Ururu said, smiling up at Yusuke whom she grew attached to and looked up to as a sister-figure.

"Why bother asking her that every morning when she'll just reply with the same damn thing." Jinta said in a smart-ass manner.

"Because it's good manners, Jinta-kun." Ururu replied in her soft voice.

"Forget about it, I don't mind." Yusuke said.

"**Let's bring him out! The new century's premiere spiritualist! Hell's messenger! Don Kanonji-san!" **announced a TV broadcaster as a man in a ridiculous outfit appeared on the television screen.

"**Spirits are always with you! BOHAHAHAHA!"** said Don Kanonji.

"What a joke. The people here are idiots to believe he's a psychic." Yusuke criticized blandly.

"Perhaps, but the kids like him nonetheless." Urahara said, tapping his fan against his chin while watching the show.

"**I'm gonna let you babies hear the whispers of the spirits again this week! BOHAHAHAHA!"**

"Why do people bother watching someone so phony? Real psychics don't go around selling their abilities off like some cheap roadside show." Yusuke said, crunching on a pickled radish.

"That may be true from where you're from, Yusu-chan, but here, people do whatever they can to get attention." said Urahara, "By the way, I need you to run a little errand for me."

Yusuke sighed, hating her uncle's stupid side-trips. "What kind of errand?"

"Oh, nothing too big of a hassle, I just need you to keep an eye on a certain someone for me for today." Urahara said.

"And who would that be?"

Urahara held up a photo of a rather begrudging looking boy with orange hair wearing a local high school uniform.

"His name's Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Any particular reason as to why I need to keep an eye on him?"

"You'll know why once you see him."

"Yeah, yeah." Yusuke said, setting her bowl down and getting up to go to her room that was arranged by Tessai, and decorated by Tessai (which in the beginning was covered in a sickening sea of pink and frills, later changed to a more tranquil décor due to Yusu's complaint), to change out of her pjs and into a pair of khaki shorts, a white t-shirt, and a black hoodie-jacket. When Yusuke was done dressing and returned to the living room, both Ururu and Jinta seemed excited about something.

"What's up?" Yusuke asked as she was slipping on her shinobi boots that she had refused to throw out (and thanks to Tessai again, were repaired like new).

"Next week's 'spontaneous trip' is coming to Karakura-cho!" Jinta said. Yusuke looked over her shoulder at the TV to see an old abandoned hospital.

"**Next week will be an emergency live broadcast special! We'll be visiting an abandoned hospital in Karakura-cho, Tokyo!"**

"Huh?"

"Have a good day keeping an eye on carrot-top, nee-chan." Ururu said, as she, Tessai, Urahara, and Jinta were seeing Yusuke off.

"And I've made you a special lunch today, so be sure to eat it all." Tessai said, handing her an oversized bento. "You'll need your strength to fight off all those delinquents on the streets who try to make a pass at you. Plus, you're much too skinny for your age. Men like women with a bit of meat on their bones."

"Uh, right." Yusuke said with a sweat-drop, taking the wrapped bento and walking off, readjusting the strap of her hidden pouch that contained her shinobi gear. "Later."

* * *

Yusuke had maintained her ninja stealth, having found her target easily as he was on his way to school. She kept to the rooftops, staying out of sight. Urahara had been right in saying that she would know the reason why she had to keep an eye on him, he exuded a great amount of reiki for a human, which made him an easy target for Hollows.

But the girl who walked with Ichigo to school, she, too, had great amounts of reiki, but not as much as Ichigo. On top of that, Yusuke had a gut feeling that the girl with Ichigo wasn't human. Also, that girl seemed to have noticed Yusuke's presence but did not let Ichigo know about it.

She'd have to get a closer look.

School, as Yusuke rediscovered, was incredibly dull. And much longer than the Academy back in Konoha, where most of the lessons were indoors. She also found it to be quite sad that the students were not all in pique physical condition and had the reflexes of a lame cow. And their studies always took place in a classroom with boring non-stop lectures. How any of these students endured it was lost on Yusuke.

But, as the day went into the early afternoon was when the first Hollow made itself present and Yusuke merely stayed on the sidelines as she watched Ichigo (in his shinigami form) and the girl, run out of the school towards the Hollow.

It was a pitiful display of a fight as Ichigo showed that he had no skill when it came to handling his over-sized zanpakutou or even controlling his reiki while in the heat of battle. And the longer Yusuke watched, the more she understood about her little "errand."

This Kurosaki Ichigo needed training or else he would end up dead.

The next night, Ichigo slinked after his family to the "Spontaneous Location" for the Don Kanonji shooting. He felt like an idiot for showing up when he said he wasn't going.

"You came!" Both Keigo and Mizuiro said together, pointing at Ichigo.

"Shut up! I'll mangle you both!" Ichigo said in irritation.

"Kurosaki-kun!" came a feminine voice, getting the boy's attention as he turned around to see Orihime. "Sorry about the other day." she said.

"For what?" Ichigo asked.

"Tatsuki told me you hate this show, I didn't know."

"Oh, that? Don't worry, it's nothing." Ichigo said, "Keigo and Mizuiro know I hate it too, but they still…"

"But…you came anyway. Why?"

"Um…Yuzu and my dad are big fans." Ichigo pointed over to where his father and sister were, doing the pose of Don Kanonji.

"And that's why you came? Even though you hate it?" Orihime asked.

"Huh? I couldn't let them come alone."

Orihime smiled thoughtfully. "You're very thoughtful, Kurosaki-kun."

"I am? It's nothing." Ichigo said awkwardly.

"I guess you're right. It's nothing."

As Orihime left to find Tatsuki, Ichigo had nothing to do but look around. "Look at all these losers gathering here. Don't they have lives? That's what the TV guys will think. Darn it."

"C'mon, Ichigo. Cheer up!" said Rukia from behind, doing the pose and laugh.

_You, too?!_ Ichigo thought darkly.

"Hey, why the face?" Rukia asked.

"What face? It's my everyday face!"

"You're here now, so you might as well enjoy yourself. You must be tired from school and shinigami work. Take this opportunity to unwind!" said Rukia, "Anyway, what's this festival about?"

"You came here without the slightest clue?!" Ichigo yelled.

* * *

"Why do I have to come along? I hate this show." Yusuke said in distaste as she followed Urahara and Tessai to the "Spontaneous Location". Plus Ururu was holding her hand and she knew the girl wasn't going to let go.

"Because, Yusu-chan, it's good to go out once in awhile and have fun as one big happy family." Urahara said flippantly. "And Ururu-chan and Jinta-kun wanted to go."

"You're just using them as an excuse to see for yourself if this guy's a fake or not." Yusuke mumbled.

"Hey, Ururu! Quit acting like a baby by holding nee-san's hand all the time when we go out! It's embarrassing!" Jinta said from Yusuke's right side.

"But I like holding nee-chan's hand when we go out." Ururu said innocently.

"That's because you're such a big baby!" Jinta said.

Yusuke, knowing what Jinta really wanted since her own sister acted like this too, held out her hand to Jinta, who looked up at her questioningly. Yusuke smiled warmly at him, "You want to hold my hand, too, Jinta-kun?"

Jinta's cheeks flushed and turned his gaze downward and fell silent, but took Yusuke's offer and held her hand as they continued walking.

"See, you like holding nee-chan's hand, too." Ururu said.

"Shut up!" Jinta scuffed, his face turning redder.

Urahara smiled behind his fan. _Kids can be cute._ he thought.

_**AHHHH! AHHHH!**_

"Who's screaming?" Yusuke wondered as they spotted the abandoned hospital where a huge crowd stood behind yellow tape.

"That's the cry of a jibaku." Urahara said over his shoulder.

"So then there is one here. I'm guessing it hasn't become a hollow yet." Yusuke said.

"That's right, it's still a ghost attached to this world. Its harmless." said Urahara.

_Harmless? Yeah, I'll say it's harmless. It's just as harmless as that charlatan._ Yusuke thought as she scanned the crowd and spotted Ichigo and Rukia. _Wonder if they're here on business?_

"Is something the matter, nee-chan?" Ururu asked, looking up at the older girl.

"No, nothing at all." Yusuke said, smiling down at Ururu.

"Hey! The show's about to begin!" Jinta said excitedly.

"**SPIRITS ARE ALWAYS WITH YOU!" **screamed Kanonji as he came free-falling towards the crowd from the sky, releasing a parachute. The crowd all cheered and hollered.

"How lame." Yusuke drawled when suddenly a jolt went through her. _What the hell was that?_ she wondered, looking over her shoulder, finding nothing. _That was…that was chakra I just felt…could it be…?_

"This guy is such an amateur. He has no idea what he's doing." said Jinta.

"Shush and enjoy the show." said Tessai.

"Can we go closer?" Ururu asked, releasing Yusuke's hand and tugged at Urahara's jacket.

"I suppose so." Urahara said, moving forward with the kids and Tessai. Yusuke stayed back, or more like, slipped away to search for that chakra signature.

_Weird…I could've sworn it came from around here._ Yusuke thought, stepping away from the site to where it was hardly crowded. _Maybe it was just my imagination getting the better of me? I have been feeling anxious lately._

"Looking for me?" came a smooth, velvety voice that was laced with a dark tone. Yusuke's eyes widened as she whipped around to see Uchiha Sasuke standing only two feet behind her.

Yusuke stared wide-eyed at the now taller, older, and most definitely stronger Uchiha Sasuke. Her surprise in seeing the deserter was evident in her expression. She was even more surprised in seeing him wearing normal street clothes that other people their age in Karakura-cho wore. Blue jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt and tennis shoes. He was obviously wearing those clothes to blend in.

"It's been awhile." Sasuke said.

"Not here," Yusuke said, leading the way into an alley to get out of sight.

Once they were alone they embraced each other, kissing each other deeply before pulling back for air.

"What are you doing here? What happened to Orochimaru?" she asked.

"He's dead. I killed him almost a month ago." he said, "I've formed a group called Hebi and our mission right now is to track down Danzou."

"Why Danzou?"

"He was one of the people behind my clan's massacre. He was one of the people that ordered my brother to do it."

"I'm not all that surprised, he's a real bastard." Yusuke said, relaxing her posture by putting a hand on her hip and scratching the back of her head, her eyes turned to the direction of the night's festivities.

Sasuke took in Yusuke's appearance. Her hair had certainly gotten longer, reaching down to the small of her back, and the last few years since leaving the village have definitely been good to her. Her figure was still very slim, but Sasuke could see the wiry muscles flexing with her every movement. Obviously she's been keeping up with her daily training.

"I see you've made yourself at home with those people." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, and believe it or not the weirdo with the hat is my uncle." Yusuke said, "So tell me, Sasuke, did you get the power you wanted?"

Sasuke allowed a ghost of a smirk to appear on his lips. "You want to see first-hand?" he asked in a blasé attempt to provoke Yusuke as he looked at her. "I haven't fought anyone who could pose as a real challenge for me yet. And I've wanted to fight you after seeing your power during the Dark Tournament."

"Take a number; you aren't the first to ask me for a fight."

He smirked, "What's with the rosary?"

"It hides my reiki. I don't want the wrong kind of attention."

"That doesn't sound like you, wanting to avoid being the center of attention."

"Shut up, so how long are you going to be sticking around?"

"Not long. My team and I are staying in a house not far from here. The owners are away so before they come back we'll be leaving."

"Why are you even here?"

"Come find me and I'll tell you about it then."

Yusuke sighed and nodded before she walked back into the rowdy crowd towards the front where she found Urahara and everyone standing idly by while things unfurled in the center.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"He's opening the hole in the Jibaku's chest." Ururu said with a hint of panic.

"But doesn't he know that doing something like that only speeds up the process of turning him into a Hollow?" Yusuke asked.

"Of course not." Urahara said.

"STOP!" Ichigo yelled, leaping over the yellow tape to stop Kanonji from creating a Hollow but was pummeled down by security guards. "Let go of me! If you don't, something terrible is gonna happen!"

"Shut up, kid!" one of the guards said.

"Ichigo! Come here! I'll change you into a shinigami!" Rukia said, putting on her glove but was also stopped by guards. "Let me…GO!"

"Rukia! What're you doing? Shake them off and get over here!" Ichigo yelled.

"What?! Why don't you shake them off! You're a guy, aren't you?!" Rukia shouted back.

"C'mon! You've only got two on you! Look at all these gorilla's on me!"

The hole in the ghost's chest was almost completely exposed.

"ICHIGO!"

"I know! Let me go, damn it!" Suddenly, out of nowhere, Ichigo felt a jab at the back of his head and rolled out of his body. "Ow!…who did that?" he wondered, rubbing his head.

Rukia's eyes widened at the sight of Urahara Kisuke and Tessai. "Urahara?"

"Hi-ya!" Urahara greeted, waving his fan at them.

"Getta-boushi? What're you doing here?" Ichigo asked in bewilderment, then spotted Yusuke beside Urahara, staring straight at him. "Who is…?"

"Yo," Yusuke replied in a cool manner.

"Y-you can see me?" Ichigo asked.

"C'mon, we'll talk later. Go get him, Kurosaki." Urahara said.

"O-oh, yeah!" Ichigo stuttered, suddenly remembering the reason he was in his shinigami form.

"Why are you here, Urahara-san?" Rukia asked suspiciously, "Are you up to something crooked?"

"Please! I'm not up to anything, I swear!" Urahara said, returning to his flippant way. "You see, these kids really love the show. They just had to be here tonight. So I grudgingly brought them." he said, patting both Ururu and Jinta on the head. "And lo and behold, I hear your scream from far away."

"Hey! I didn't scream!" Rukia said in irritancy.

"Ji-san…" Yusuke began, noticing a few security guards coming their way.

"And when I got here, to my astonishment…"

"Hey, you!"

Urahara looked over his shoulder at the guard. "Yes?" he asked.

"Do you know these kids?" the guard asked, pointing at both Rukia and the uninhabited body of Ichigo. "I'd like a word with you over here, right now."

"Huh…no…um…" Urahara said, just as a small bomb exploded at their feet, knocking the guards out as Urahara and his group, along with Rukia, made their escape.

"You _idiot_! You can't use Seireitei equipment like that!" Rukia yelled.

"I had no choice! I can't get mixed up in your mess and end up in jail!" Urahara said with an amused grin on his face.

"Moron! You butted into this on your own!" Yusuke yelled.

"Yusu-chan, why don't you go help Kurosaki-kun?" Urahara suggested once they had stopped running and relocated in a different section within the crowd. The ghost had long ago disappeared, and already its soul particle was gathering up.

"Why? It's not like I got myself involved, I didn't even want to come here tonight." Yusuke said, but sighed as she flashed out of sight and landed on the roof of the hospital.

Urahara had a knowing smile tugging his lips. "She can be such a brat at times, but she knows how to get a job done. Just like her mother."

"Urahara-san…who is that girl?" Rukia asked quietly.

"Heh. We'll discuss it later." Urahara said soberly.

"Ah! She's not your mistress, is she?!" Rukia said.

"What kind of person do you take me for?" Urahara asked, as he sweat-dropped.

* * *

"Wh-why are you running, boy?! Let me go!" Kanonji said while Ichigo was running away from the Hollow, dragging Kanonji behind him.

"You told me to run!" Ichigo said.

"N-no! I didn't mean…I told _you_ to run! But not with me!" Kanonji screamed, "I—I cannot run away!"

Ichigo yanked Kanonji over his head, throwing the man to the end of the hall, finally fed up with him.

"That does it! You keep saying 'I cannot run away!' What the heck does that mean?! How come I can run, but not you?! Explain yourself!" Ichigo yelled in clear irritation with the man.

"I'll throw that same question back to you, boy!" Kanonji said.

"**I'm asking the questions right now!**" Ichigo yelled.

"Very well." Kanonji conceded.

"You must have some reason for saying it. Why can't you run away?" Ichigo asked again.

"Well…it's because…I am a hero!" Kanonji said in a way he thought was "cool." Ichigo just stared at him like he was some kind of moron. "Yes…While by nature, I am a man who abhors conflict, I am also a hero, so I cannot show my back to any enemy."

"He's a real piece of work, ain't he?" Yusuke practically stated in a sarcastic tone, surprising Ichigo as he turned around to stare at her.

"You again? Wh-what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Urahara told me to help you out." Yusuke said in a bored manner, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Urahara…? Wait! You can see me?!" Ichigo asked in surprise.

"Yes, of course I can. I'm not blind to the spiritual world, just so you know." Yusuke said.

"I cannot run away from the enemy, not with those children watching." Kanonji said, turning around. "C'mon, let's hurry back to the battle-zone and fight that monster!"

"Are you crazy?! We can't do that!" Ichigo yelled, grabbing Kanonji's jacket.

"Why not?! I can't fight here where there're no TV cameras! Let me go!"

"If we fight near that crowd, people could get hurt! That wouldn't be very hero-like!" Ichigo said, "Doesn't a hero protect his fans?"

"That thing is a Hollow—" Yusuke began, stepping up to stand next to Ichigo. "It eats souls with high reiki. It's drawn to souls of people like us. That Hollow will follow our energy into this hospital. And if we fight in here, nobody but us can get hurt."

"Kids, you're amazing…you thought all of that through while you fought." Kanonji said, as the floor beneath them rose and cracked as the Hollow emerged. Both Ichigo and Yusuke jumped away in time. Yusuke pushed Kanonji back while Ichigo pulled out his zanpakutou.

"Here he comes!" Ichigo said, raising his zanpakutou up to strike, only to stop as he realized that his zanpakutou was too big to swing around in the hall as it got stuck in the ceiling.

_I'm screwed!_ Ichigo thought as the Hollow creped forward.

"O-okay…c'mon! I'll kick you to death!" he said.

"You're such a dunce." Yusuke said, knocking the Hollow back with a swift kick. The Hollow shook off Yusuke's kick as it came back, but was stopped by Kanoji, holding it back with his staff.

"Kanonji! No! You can't beat a Hollow, run!" Ichigo said.

"Forget it, let him be stupid on his own." Yusuke said.

"I know. Though I do have a little power, I make it a point to assess my enemies very carefully. But you see, my boy…I was deeply moved by your selfless act. Though no one may ever know it, you fight with the safety of the public in mind…your struggle is truly worthy of being called heroic! Allow me to call you both my comrades."

"Um…no…thanks…" both Yusuke and Ichigo said together.

"And comrades, as my final act, let me fall like a leaf in autumn protecting you!" Kanonji lunged forward at the Hollow. "Kanonji-style: Ultimate Secret Principle!"

"Even his attack names are lame." Yusuke muttered.

"Cannon ball!" Kanonji said, creating a small, ping-pong ball sized sphere of energy in his hand.

"What? What is that? You really think you can kill a Hollow with that?" Ichigo asked skeptically. "Nah, even you wouldn't be…" Ichigo stopped when Kanonji pointed the ball of energy at him. "Huh? What is that? What d'you think you're…"

"…destroy!"

The ball slowly flew towards Ichigo, curving upward towards the ceiling and exploding on impact, freeing his zanpakutou.

"Good job, Kanonji! Now leave the rest to me!" Ichigo said, charging towards the Hollow as it swiped Kanonji aside. Ichigo thrust his zanpakutou into the Hollow's shoulder, unable to slice it's head in the narrow hallway. Without warning, Yusuke came up behind him and kicked the Hollow through the wall with Ichigo being pulled after it.

"Wa-wait! Hey!" he called as they smashed through the wall.

"Oops, sorry about that." Yusuke said, though she hardly cared whether Ichigo heard her or not.

"T-TOO HIGH!" Ichigo screamed, looking down at the crowd. The Hollow climbed up to the roof with Ichigo still hanging onto him by his sword where he was then flung off of him. Quickly, he got onto his feet and charged the Hollow.

"I'm tougher than you think! The last place was too small, plus I had to protect Kanonji, so I couldn't really fight! But now that he's not here, you're toast!" Ichigo said, when suddenly the door to the roof opened up to reveal Kanonji.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, boy!" Kanonji said.

_He's here!_ Ichigo thought darkly. "Run, Kanonji!"

"Un…Unfortunately…right now…I can barely stand up!" Kanonji admitted, showing his shaking knees.

_Then why'd you come up here?!_ Ichigo wanted to yell.

"Stay down and out of the way if you're going to be useless." Yusuke said, pushing Kanonji aside as she walked out onto the roof. "Heads up, Kurosaki!"

"Crap!" Ichigo said, blocking the Hollow's attack. "It's all over." With one fell swoop, he destroyed the Hollow.

"Bravo!" Kanonji cheered, jumping up in joy, "You are indeed my…"

"Don't jump for joy too much." Yusuke said calmly.

"Wh…why? What are you saying? He defeated the monster! Why aren't you both happy?" Kanonji asked, unable to understand the concept. He fell silent when he saw the Hollow's mask chipping away, revealing the spirit he thought he had exorcised. "What's happening?"

"I told you. It wasn't a monster. It's called a Hollow." Ichigo said, looking back at the man while Yusuke stepped forward towards the soul. "Some spirits have chains attached to them. When they tear free, a hole is left in their chests. Then they become irrational monsters…Hollows."

"But…I thought…By opening the hole and breaking the chains, I was freeing them…oh, no…" Kanonji dropped to his knees. "Then…everything I've done…"

"I don't know why, but the spirits that exploded in front of you didn't become Hollows, right?" Yusuke asked, "This time was different. You didn't know anything about Hollows, did you? I'm not saying you did the right thing, but feeling bad now won't help."

"But…I was foolish…" Kanonji sniffled, sobbing into the back of his sleeve.

"Hey…no more tears…hero." Ichigo said, looking over the railing. "Your public is waving to you." Kanonji stood up and looked over the railing himself, hearing the cheers from the massive crowd below. "Go on, wave to them. That's what a hero does, right?"

"Bo…**BOHAHAHAHA!"** Kanonji was touched by the response he received as his fans mimicked him. "Boy…thank you…It was such a splendid fight. I honor you…your courage, your quick thinking and your strength. Please keep lending me your help." he turned around to give Ichigo a hand shake.

Skeptically, Ichigo reached out and shook Kanonji's hand. "Well…I wasn't the only one—" Ichigo looked over his shoulder to find that Yusuke had disappeared. _Crap! She left me alone with this jerk!_ he thought.

"From this day forth, you shall be my number one disciple!"

Ichigo froze like a statue at those words.

_Have I been…__**DEMOTED?!**_

_Like I said…it's pretty boring here._

* * *

**AN: Review/Comment**

**Ciao for now!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Yusuke walked down the hallway of the freshman class, passing gawking students as she casually made her way into class 1-B. Entering the room, she bypassed the chattering students and walked straight towards where Kurosaki Ichigo sat, who was ignoring his friend's chattering. She sat on his desk, crossing her knees, and leaned in toward Ichigo's face until they were a breath away, making the students all stare and Ichigo blushed red from the base of his neck to the top of his head.

Her slender fingers caressed the side of his face down to slightly lift his chin. "Meet me in the park at midnight tonight." she said in a sultry voice before leaning away, uncrossing her knees, and standing up to walk back pass the gawking freshmen.

"Whoa! Ichigo! Why didn't you tell me you were dating an older woman?!" said Keigo, as he began to over exaggerate like always. "You could've introduced us!"

Ichigo, still blushing profusely, couldn't hear Keigo's exclamations as he sat stiff, staring ahead of him. _Wh—what the hell?! She didn't have to make it look so—and in front of my classmates, too!_ Ichigo thought in a panic.

"What does Urahara's niece want with you?" Rukia asked from behind Ichigo, making him jump out of his skin.

Wait…

"Urahara? You mean Mr. Geta-boushi? That's his niece?" Ichigo asked, looking back at Rukia to see a serious, contemplating look on her face.

"But it's strange…if she's really his niece, then why can't I sense her ki?" Rukia wondered. Ichigo looked out the window, wondering to himself whether he should meet his senpai on the roof. Especially after that little…_provocative_ display.

That night, Ichigo had left his house to meet with Yusuke in the park. Rukia, not at all trusting of Yusuke, tagged along with Ichigo. They found Yusuke sitting upon the memorial bench of some deceased person who had died tragically twenty years ago. She was alone.

"Good, you came." Yusuke said, standing and taking a few steps closer to Ichigo and Rukia and stopped half way towards them. She was dressed simply in jeans and a baggy t-shirt. "I've got a few questions to ask, and I bet you have a few of your own. So I'll start: Where did you get your shinigami powers from? Her?" she asked, pointing her chin at Rukia's direction.

"Huh? Wait a sec! First of all, how do you know about shinigamis, and second, what the hell were you thinking coming up to me the way you did, you perv? You gave my classmates the wrong impression! They think we're having some secret affair or something!" Ichigo berated.

"Yade, yade, ji-san was right…getting a straight answer from you this way will be hard." Yusuke sighed.

"And another thing: Rukia said you aren't what you seem to be. Just who the hell are you? What's your purpose for being here?" Ichigo asked seriously. Yusuke gave a faint, amused smile before vanishing from Ichigo's vision.

"Ichigo! Look out!" Rukia called out in warning.

Ichigo's eyes widened when he was suddenly on his back, with Yusuke pinning him down, holding a kunai to his throat.

"Kuuchiki Rukia, that's her name, right?" Yusuke inquired as if Rukia wasn't there as she cast a shadow over Ichigo, her long black hair creating a curtain around Ichigo's head. "I've heard a great deal about the Kuuchiki family and Seireitei. I've even been hearing about you, lately. Last night was our first real encounter, and from what I've been seeing I'd say you have no actual, _prior_, experience. Even the toddlers from my village have more skill than you do."

Ichigo's eyes were still wide, staring up at Yusuke.

"You have a lot of power, but you don't know how to control it. It's sad when you think about it. As harsh as it may seem, you still have no idea what you're doing."

"And…" Ichigo croaked, "What about _you_? What's your story?"

Yusuke's eyes were cold and void of emotion as she stared down at Ichigo, the kunai still at his throat. "We come from different worlds, you and I. You grew up knowing nothing about the supernatural plain, living a normal, carefree life. I grew up where as soon as a child can walk, they start training immediately to become a great shinobi. And unlike you, I had to _die_ to get to where I am now." Ichigo's eyes were still wide and he dared not blink or look away from her. "Because of shinigamis, my life is far different from the other shinobis of my village. Because of shinigamis, I died years before my time and became Reikai's Spirit Detective. Because of shinigamis," her dark eyes flicked up to meet Rukia's violet ones, "my life became more complicated than it used to be."

"You were killed…by shinigamis…?" Ichigo asked in a shaky voice. "Why?" Yusuke returned her gaze down to Ichigo.

"I never said I was killed by them." Yusuke replied slowly, moving off of Ichigo. "But we're a lot alike, you and I. We're both set far apart from our peers."

Ichigo, who had already stood up by this time, was staring at Yusuke's back, not knowing what else to say to her.

"You've grown quiet." Yusuke said, turning to look at Ichigo. "I thought you had questions for me?"

"Are all shinigamis…bad?" Ichigo asked.

Yusuke looked at Rukia who stared straight back, though Yusuke could see that she was hesitant. Yusuke then looked away. "…No. Urahara told me that Seireitei follows a complex constitution of laws and regulation that puts the captains and lieutenants in control of manipulating the ethics to their liking. In a way, like all politics, their system is corrupt."

"How do you know Mr. Geta-boushi? Is he really your uncle?"

"…Yes."

"Who are you? Really?" Rukia asked.

"I am Urameshi Yusuke, the Spirit Detective of Ningenkai."

"Spirit Detective?" Ichigo repeated, confused about the title while Rukia stood frozen.

"Y-you're…her? You're the Spirit Detective?" Rukia stammered.

"What's a Spirit Detective?" Ichigo asked.

"A Spirit Detective goes out hunting demons and spirits who create mischief and havoc in the human world. They operate outside of Seireitei's jurisdictions and answer directly to Enma-sama himself, giving them a slightly higher status than even the captains of the Gotei 13." Rukia said, "But…why are you here in Karakura?"

Yusuke sighed and scratched the back of her head. "Jeez, now I know how my senseis all felt. I'm here to simply get some much needed R-n-R, got it?"

"So you're just here on vacation?" Ichigo asked in a bland tone, his interest now somewhat deflated. "Why not just go someplace more exotic like Tahiti or something?"

"Because I'm not a big fan of traveling." Yusuke said flatly, "So tell me, Ichigo, how long have you been able to see spirits?"

That question caught Ichigo off guard for a moment before he answered. "Ever since I can remember… I've been able to see ghosts and other weird stuff like that. But I mostly kept it to myself."

"Are you able to sense them? Touch them, even?"

"Yes, but I've always avoided them."

"What are your thoughts on the misguided spirits who become classified as violent apparitions?"

"I wouldn't know."

"I see…you don't really have a straight answer for that just yet."

"What about you?"

Yusuke paused for a moment, remembering when she had become a ghost herself years ago, and how she had encountered so many unexplainable things since then. "I've always been aware of the supernatural, and at first, I didn't know what to do about it. It used to scare me, and I would always take my grandmother's advice on how to ward off and trick the spirits. Eventually, I learned to turn it into a game and I wasn't scared anymore. But now…now I have a deeper understanding. Many are simply lonely and more than often become bitter towards the people who cannot see or hear them.

"I've learned how to help spirits, even purify their souls so that they can finally be at peace. It's true that I work outside of Seireitei's laws, but it doesn't mean that we have completely opposite ideals. We both purify souls and work hard to keep the balance between Ningenkai and Reikai, but that's about it when it comes to similarities. My job is a little more complicated as I have to work as an ambassador, or something along that occupation. It's tiring and also stressful since I don't get along with any of the shinigamis whom I've met. Many of them would rather see me dead. But in the end, we each have our understandings of each others jobs, and we each keep from crossing paths as best as we can. And hiding out here, I'm less likely to be found by Reikai or anybody else."

"So in other words you're just here to slack off." Ichigo said bluntly, hitting a nerve in Yusuke.

"That's not what I said, idiot! Didn't you hear me?" Yusuke replied back, aggravated by Ichigo's nerve. "It's no wonder you can't wield your zanpakutou properly, you don't listen!"

Now it was Ichigo's turn to be aggravated. "You've got some nerve asking me out here to only give me a boring story and then an insult all in just five minutes!"

"Oh yeah? Well, an ignorant punk like you deserves to be insulted since nothing can get through that thick skull of yours!"

"Well excuse me for being an ignorant punk! I didn't ask for this, y'know!"

"Guys, guys, break it up!" Rukia said, trying to get in the middle of Yusuke and Ichigo to put some distance between them. But what broke up the bickering was the howl of a Hollow.

"Let me show you why there's a difference between me and shinigamis." Yusuke said.

Taking the lead, Yusuke was the first to arrive upon the scene of a Hollow chasing after a spirit of a lost soul. And as soon as Ichigo and Rukia caught up, Ichigo was floored by what he saw. No zanpakutou, no incantation, no nothing as Yusuke defeated the Hollow with just a single mighty punch from her right fist to the skeletal mask, splitting it in two, killing the Hollow successfully. Kurosaki Ichigo was then faced with an ugly truth…he was nothing more than an imitator, a fraud, only a pretender dressed up like a shinigami. He had been childish to think that he was skilled enough to protect Karakura on his own.

"You see now, Kurosaki Ichigo? The difference between you and I and a shinigami?" Yusuke asked, turning around to look back at Ichigo. "Run around, swinging that sword of yours for as long as you like, sooner or later someone else will come and show you that you're just a wet-nosed punk."

Yusuke walked past the two, leaving the park.

* * *

"I began to think you wouldn't take my invitation." Sasuke said when he entered his bedroom and found Yusuke sitting at the open window.

"You know me, I'll do what's convenient and I was in the neighborhood." Yusuke replied, smirking at him. "So tell me how it happened."

Sasuke didn't need to ask her what she meant as he went into telling her what set off the events of him defeating Orochimaru and then his own brother.

"Whoa, that's intense." Yusuke said after Sasuke finished. "I guess that explains why you're now bent on killing Danzou, but listen, take my advice when I tell you this about that bastard. He might be old but something about him gives me the impression that he's hiding something powerful. Don't face him alone."

"Thanks for the advice but it's my choice to kill Danzou with my own two hands."

Yusuke sighed, "Then do whatever you want, just don't die or else I'll go into Reikai myself to kick your ass." she said, touching the pendant he wore that she had given him.

Sasuke smirked as he leaned over Yusuke.

* * *

That night, Ichigo lay in his bed, unable to sleep as he continued to think of what he witnessed in the park. Rukia had tried to reassure him that Spirit Detectives were in a different class than shinigamis and that he had nothing to worry about, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was nothing more than an imposter. A total poser. He hated people like that and now he was something he despised.

He was coming to a fork in the road and though he would give anything to have his life return to normal, he knew deep in his heart that he could never return to how things were. Despite what he witnessed in the park, he was in too deep now to turn back.

"Are you still thinking about what happened tonight?" Rukia asked from Ichigo's closet.

"Am I nothing but a poser?" he asked.

Rukia took a moment before answering. "No, you are merely a substitute in my stead. You're more help than you think, so stop wallowing and simply move past it."

That was easier said than done and Ichigo, despite what Rukia said, still couldn't help but feel like having a pity party for himself.

* * *

Yusuke stretched lazily, the satin sheets cool against her heated skin as she rolled onto her stomach and snuggled the fluffy pillow. It was pre-dawn, the sun preparing to rise. A soft kiss was planted on her bare shoulders, waking her up.

"Mmm…it's too early." she mumbled.

"What if this will be the last time we're together?" Sasuke asked, sliding a hand down her back and below the sheets, making her moan softly. He smirked at the sound of her moaning.

"You're always up so early." Yusuke sighed as she turned around to look up at him, reaching around his neck and pulling him down for a kiss.

* * *

Yusuke sat upon the roof of her uncle's shop/house, letting out a soft sigh. After her morning with Sasuke, they parted after breakfast (which Yusuke made because Sasuke insisted in having a traditional Japanese breakfast). She knew their relationship wasn't much of one, it was nothing more than touch-n-go whenever they happen to cross paths…which turned out to be more often than not.

_Should I be worried that he's possibly following me?_ Yusuke thought as she released a small amount of spiritual energy, specifically as a homing message to attract a certain someone's attention. Yusuke thought nothing more about her no-strings attached relationship with the Uchiha.

"You don't have to hide from me, I know you're there…Botan."

"Oh, I wanted to surprise you! How did you know it was me, anyhow?" the blue-haired grim reaper asked, floating down on her oar behind Yusuke. Yusuke turned around to face her friend with a warm smile.

"Because I specifically sent out my reiki to lead you here to me." Yusuke said.

Botan smiled genuinely at Yusuke. "You've gotten taller, Yusu-chan…and your hair is so much longer. It's good to see you again."

"Likewise."

"I'm glad you sent for me, I've been itching to inform you of the current situation between the shinobi countries." Botan said, floating to Yusuke's other side.

"What situation? Is it serious?" Yusuke asked.

Botan nodded her head. "Very. From what I understand, there is tension revolving around the Fire Nation and its neighboring countries. Ever since word got out that you had left three years ago, rumors have been buzzing that a country without a strong kage will be an easy target. Yusu …you're needed more than ever by your village. Tsunade-sama is doing her best, but her influence can only do so much."

"But I can't go back…not yet." Yusuke said.

"_You_ were appointed as the fifth Hokage, Yusu! You _have_ to do something!" Botan's voice then softened, "Everyone misses you. Nothing's the same without you."

"I'm sorry, Botan…Not yet."

"But—"

"Not yet."

Botan's eyes brimmed with tears from Yusuke's sudden distance. Despite how close she was, Botan could feel that her friend was miles away.

"It'll be hard for you but I need you to keep this quiet about where I am. I've got some business to take care of outside of Konoha and Reikai. You understand?"

Botan's oar vanished into thin air and she stood in front of Yusuke with her hands on her hips. "I'll keep quiet, Yusu, only if I can stay here with you and make sure you don't get into too much trouble. As always."

"You're still as clingy as ever."

* * *

Urahara stared at the two girls sitting next to each other, Yusuke purposefully sitting between him and Botan. It was so sudden…A new member suddenly joined the Urahara Shoten who happened to be Yusuke's assistant, meaning she knew their Yusu-chan very well.

Urahara opened his mouth to say something during this awkwardly silent meal (though he would bet money that no one noticed the awkwardness except him), but thought better of it and refocused his attention on his meal.

"So…" Jinta began, looking over the rim of his rice bowl at Botan, "How do you know nee-san?" he asked.

"I was assigned as Yusu-chan's assistant when she became the Spirit Detective of Ningenkai." Botan answered happily.

"And gave me grief with every waking moment." Yusuke dead-panned.

"Hey! I did not!" Botan said, giving Yusuke an angry look.

"Kept bringing me stupid assignments from that toddler that any person with Reiki could have completed." Yusuke said.

"But Yusu-chan, those cases were dangerous. Even _you_ had trouble with a few of them." Botan said.

"Yeah, but that was such a long time ago. I'm a lot stronger than I was back then."

_Yusuke seems more livelier than ever with this friend of hers here._ Urahara thought, finding the girls' little squabble amusing.

"What sort of cases did you do?" Jinta asked.

"Oh, you know, the usual." Yusuke said, brushing the subject away from her Spirit Detective days. Though Botan wasn't going to let it go that easily.

"Yusu-chan used to capture demons that had escaped from Reikai and Makai. In fact, two of her teammates are convicted demon criminals." Botan said.

"Yeah, until Koenma bribed them to help me with the Four Saint Beasts case in exchange for cleaning their slates." Yusuke stated.

"And then became your closest allies. Honestly, Yusu-chan! You haven't changed one bit!" Botan said.

"You're one to talk," Yusuke countered.

"Nee-chan," Ururu piped up, getting Yusuke's attention. "What do you plan to do for summer break?"

"Summer break?" Yusuke repeated, unfamiliar with the term as she looked to Botan who merely shrugged her shoulders.

"No plans, eh?" Urahara inquired with a smirk. "Then let's all go to the beach! And Yusu-chan, I'll buy you and your cute friend bikinis for you both to w—" Urahara was cut off by Yusuke smashing her half-eaten bowl of rice into his face.

"Like hell I'd wear anything _you'd_ buy, geezer!" Yusuke yelled.

"Yusu-chan, would you like me to set up a spare room for your friend?" Tessai asked, ignoring Urahara who was twitching on the floor.

"That's okay, Botan can bunk with me in my room. I've got plenty of space." Yusuke said.

"In that case I will take the privilege and buy some clothes for your friend to wear." Tessai said, his glasses catching the light in the room.

Yusuke sweat-dropped. "Clothes shopping…? Again?"

"Hai. I've noticed that your friend's body-build is much softer and curvier than yours. Finding clothes to accent her figure will be much easier than shopping clothes for you." At that, Botan joined Yusuke in sweat-dropping.

"Y-you're too kind." Botan said awkwardly.

* * *

"Where is the target axis?"

"It's not confirmed."

"Hello. Where are we being sent?"

"We're moving out. Release the hell butterfly."

"Capture or _kill…_This isn't a job for a shinigami is it?"

"It may be."

* * *

Botan had woken up during the night for one reason…to check if she was really sleeping next Yusuke. To check if this wasn't all just a dream. Even though it had been only two days, Botan couldn't help but to suddenly wake up in the middle of the night, for fear that Yusuke would be gone again.

The blue-haired, rosy-eyed Grim Reaper noticed that Yusuke was not beside her, causing the girl to sit up in a panic. She placed her hand on the spot where Yusuke had laid…it was still slightly warm. For a moment, Botan sat, concentrating on finding the other girl's spiritual energy that she knew so well, and sensed it coming from outside.

Botan quietly made her way outside and scanned the front lot with her eyes, not finding the Spirit Detective.

"You should go back to bed, it's late." Botan jumped slightly as she spun around and looked up to see Yusuke sitting on the roof. The soft light from the moon making her look majestic and mysterious at the same time. Botan put her hands on her hip and gave Yusuke a sassy look.

"You should talk. It's the middle of the night, Yusu-chan. What are you doing up so late?" she asked.

"I couldn't sleep. Kept having this weird feeling like something is gonna happen." Yusuke said.

"Like what?"

"I'm not all that sure just yet."

Botan considered Yusuke's words, but didn't second-guess or question her, knowing that Yusuke's instincts were sharp.

"All right, then, but don't stay up too late." Botan said before returning inside.

Once Yusuke was sure that Botan was out of ear shot before she continued her private meeting with Kurama and Hiei who had kept themselves out of sight in the shadows.

* * *

Days had gone by quietly and uneventfully since Botan arrived to the Urahara Shoten. Occasionally a demon would pass by, creating mischief, and Botan would nag Yusuke until she had no choice but to capture the demon to shut Botan up (of course, if Yusuke had it her way, she wouldn't lift a finger and merely let the demon have his fun until he got bored and moved on).

Of course, the only crisis that came and went was when Ichigo got dragged into a challenge by a classmate who knew his secret and baited hundreds of Hollows into the town, creating a game of whoever killed the most to be the superior fighter. Unfortunately, Botan was an easy target for the Hollows and Yusuke was busy keeping her assistant safe. By the end of the day, after Ichigo had defeated a Menos Grande together with the Quincy, Ishida Uryuu, Yusuke made a point of knocking them both over the head and calling them idiots for putting everyone in danger and then went home.

The next day Ururu and Jinta were outside, sweeping the front. Well…Ururu was, Jinta was swinging his broom around like a baseball bat.

"Jinta-kun, let's clean up…" Ururu said softly.

"Silence! Can't you see I'm busy practicing my sword-play?!" Jinta said. Ururu sighed but then noticed a black cat. Ururu opened the front door where Urahara and Tessai were, and pointed towards the cat.

"Tessai-san, Urahara-san, a kitty." she said.

"Hey! Well, if it isn't Yoruichi-san! Welcome back!" Urahara said in a high, joyful tone, picking up the black cat.

"Hey, what's with the cat?" Jinta asked.

"That's Yoruichi-san. He's the Boss's best friend." Tessai said.

"Really? His best friend's a cat? Our boss is kinda…_pathetic._" Jinta said.

"Hmm, I can see how you might think that."

* * *

Yusuke was sitting under a tree with Botan, having lunch together in a local park. It was a warm sunny day, though it was much milder compared to summers in Konoha. It was very clear to Botan that peace suited Yusuke though at the same time it was odd to see the Spirit Detective look so relaxed and carefree. It was nice to see her friend look so unburdened, but it was obvious that she had a lot on her mind and a personal agenda that was not yet completed.

"Urameshi-san," Botan looked up while Yusuke just ignored. Rukia stood in front of them with a serious look on her face. Botan had tilted her head to the side at the sight of Rukia, since she knew no one aside from Yusuke. "My name is Kuchiki Rukia."

"Kuchiki? Ah! Do you mean you are a member of one of the four noble houses in Seireitei?" Botan asked.

"Hai, though I am not related by blood, I am only related by name as I was adopted by them." Rukia said.

"What do you want?" Yusuke asked, still not bothering to look up as she bit off another dango from the stick.

"I wanted to thank you for helping Ichigo yesterday." Rukia said.

"I didn't do anything." Yusuke said.

"Even if you weren't directly involved, I still want to thank you for everything you've done." Rukia said.

"Is that all?" Yusuke asked in bluntness.

"Hai, please, forgive me for imposing upon you like this." Rukia said, bowing in respect before leaving.

"Yusu-chan, you could've at least acted more sincere when somebody thanks you." Botan said.

"I don't feel like being praised about anything, my ego is big enough as is." Yusuke said, laying on the grass that seemed less soft compared to the grass in Konoha. "By the way, isn't it almost that time of year again?"

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?" Botan asked.

"The rainy season has passed."

"Ahh, you mean _that_ time of year. Yeah, I suppose so."

Yusuke smiled as she and Botan packed up their picnic, though Botan forgot her hat and Yusuke had gone back to grab it. As Yusuke searched for Botan's hat where they had picnicked, she paused when she felt a familiar chakra and followed it into the forested hiking trail. She went off the path behind some trees, finding Uchiha Sasuke leaning against a tree, looking cool and unconcerned of the world. Botan's hat in his hand.

"Now you're following me?" Yusuke asked.

"On the contrary, wasn't it you who followed me?" Sasuke asked, raising a brow at her.

"What are you doing here in daylight? Aren't you afraid of your fair skin bursting into flames and turning to ash?"

He scoffed at her. "You've been indulging in those stupid TV programs that my colleagues have been watching."

"Hey, when you're stuck in a house with two little brats, you get stuck doing the same thing with them sometimes." Yusuke said.

Silence followed, growing between them steadily before Sasuke spoke up. "It wasn't your fault with what had happened back then."

"Sasuke…" Yusuke sighed tiredly, "I don't want to talk about it. We got back at those bastards for what they did, it's time to move on."

His eyes activated the Sharingan as he approached Yusuke, standing directly in front of her. "Our child is dead, Yusu! Aren't you angry about that?"

"Of course I'm angry!" Yusuke said, shoving Sasuke back. "I'm angry that I let my guard down! I'm angry that I lost the baby! And I'm angry that you killed those bastards before I got to them!"

In a rare show of emotion, Sasuke pulled Yusuke to him, hugging her tightly.

And she hugged him back as she held in the tears.

They were an odd pair. Neither of them knowing that things between them would become incredibly complicated. From being enemies to secret lovers, their romantic rendezvous started when they had inevitably encountered each other after a snow storm in Rock Country, in a secluded cave within the mountainous region.

And after that, their meetings continued with everyone they were involved with were left in the dark.

Now, again reunited, Yusuke couldn't help but feel like their meeting was on a downward spiral into further grief. But she couldn't deny what she was feeling towards Uchiha Sasuke, and that feeling was stronger than the one for Hyuuga Neji. In fact, these feelings might be closer to love.

And it was dangerous.

"We can't see each other anymore." Yusuke said.

"I know." Sasuke said, "I won't abandon my ambition of avenging my clan, and you won't abandon your duties as Hokage. But I…"

"I know; you don't have to say it." she said, and then smiled. "We're such idiots."

"I know." he said, smiling with her. "Say, isn't about that time of year again?"

* * *

When both Yusuke and Botan returned from the park and were sitting around the table for an after-dinner tea, both Yusuke and Botan were staring at Urahara who was still talking to the cat, Yoruichi-san. Yusuke was resting her head on her hand, her elbow propped up on the table while Botan snacked on a rice cracker. Both girls still staring, not saying much.

"Nee-chan, would you and Botan-san like more tea?" Ururu asked.

"Yeah, sure." Yusuke said, "So…Urahara, what's with the cat?"

"This is Yoruichi, he's an old friend of mine. We go waaaaay back!" Urahara said with a flippant grin. Yusuke and Botan both sweat-dropped.

"You're kinda pathetic to have a cat for a friend." Yusuke drawled.

"I couldn't agree with you more." said Yoruihi.

Both Yusuke and Botan seemed to have turned to stone when the cat talked before suddenly backing up against the wall in shock.

"Th-Th-That cat! Did it just—did it just talk?!" Yusuke stuttered, pointing at Yoruichi in disbelief.

"I-i-it's impossible!" Botan said.

"You girls seem surprised. Don't you have talking animals where you come from?" Yoruichi asked, but his question was ignored when he was suddenly being prodded by Yusuke and Botan.

"I've never seen a talking cat before." Botan said, "Have you, Yusu-chan?"

"No. I mean, the Inuzuka clan have nin-dogs that eventually learn to talk, and even the animals of a summoning jutsu can talk, but that's all do to ninjutsu." Yusuke said, "I never thought I'd see a normal cat talk. Especially outside a ninja village."

"What about your Spirit Beast, Puu? Can't he talk?" Botan asked.

"Now that you mention it, I'm not really sure." Yusuke said.

"Do you girls mind?" Yoruichi asked, uncomfortable from the girls' poking and such.

"Sorry." they both said, dropping the cat.

"Now, for the reason why I have come here." Yoruichi began after Yusuke and Botan returned to their spots across the table. "Seireitei has sent two high-ranked shinigami officers here to the material world for the retrieval of one named Kuchiki Rukia."

"Whatever for?" Botan asked in concern.

"Who?" Yusuke asked, only to get smacked over the head by Botan. "What the hell was that for?!" she yelled.

"You're such an idiot, Yusu! Kuchiki Rukia is that shinigami girl that approached us in the park!" Botan yelled back.

"Oh yeah…what about her?" Yusuke said.

"I can't believe the village elders ever made an idiot like you Hokage." Botan said.

"Anyways," Yoruichi said, getting their attention again, "Because Rukia gave her shinigami powers to Kurosaki Ichigo, Seireitei sees it as a crime for exposing their world to this world and thus are planning to capture her and take her into custody."

"And we should care, because…" Yusuke trailed off, raising an eyebrow at Yoruichi.

"Because as Spirit Detective it is your duty to see that justice is delivered fairly_. _Rukia had saved the life of a human and in return he saved his family from a Hollow attack, not to mention he's been keeping the Hollow count down in this town—so in retro-spec, there is no true crime to her choice, but the verdict is clear to the Gotei 13 and they will see no other way around it." Yoruichi said.

"Big deal! Has anyone noticed that there's been an unusual amount of Hollow activity in this town to begin with? Also, how the hell—" Yusuke stopped abruptly when she sensed the reiatsu of two shinigamis within a two block radius from where she was. Yusuke stood up, trying to pinpoint the direction it was coming from.

"Yusuke, don't go thinking you could take on two high ranked officers. You may be a well-trained kunoichi, and you may be unmatched by many, but to go against a captain and lieutenant on your own is suicide." Yoruichi said.

"Yusu," Botan said, knowing that nothing will stop the Spirit Detective.

Yusuke took several steps to the door when Yoruichi spoke again. "You'll get killed if you go up against them alone and unarmed."

Yusuke looked over her shoulder at Yoruichi and then at everyone before she looked back at the black cat. A cocky smile was on her face. "What's life without a little excitement? I'll be fine. I am the Spirit Detective of Ningenkai after all." she said, before leaving the house.

Botan smiled. _That's the Yusu-chan I know!_ she thought happily.

"That girl is a fool." Yoruichi sighed.

"But she's our fool." everyone said together in unison.

* * *

**AN: Review/comment! Who do you want to in future chapters? Feel free to put down your thoughts in reviews or PM me.  
**

**Ciao for now!**


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